Deepfake scam impersonates economist David Rosenberg on Meta platforms
Scammers created deepfake videos of economist David Rosenberg on Meta platforms to operate a fraudulent investment scheme, reportedly defrauding multiple victims of over $1 million collectively through pump-and-dump stock manipulation on WhatsApp. The scam continued circulating for months despite reports to Meta and police.
What happened
Scammers created fraudulent investment advertisements on Facebook and Instagram falsely claiming David Rosenberg, founder and CEO of Rosenberg Research, was administering an investment scheme. The ads featured deepfake videos of Rosenberg promoting stock investment opportunities with promised returns of 30% to 70%, and directed victims to WhatsApp groups where administrators impersonating Rosenberg recommended specific stocks.
Victims were initially lured with recommendations for stocks that appeared to rise in value, creating an illusion of quick profits. When victims invested additional money, the stock prices plummeted dramatically, with one example showing a stock price fall from $1.27 to 20 cents in 15 minutes.
Reported impact
Several investors reported collective losses exceeding $1 million to Rosenberg Research. Named victims included Syed Hasan who lost $16,000, a female victim who lost $500,000 in a week, and another victim nearly 60 years old who lost $450,000 in savings.
In Canada, investment scams where initial contact occurred on social media rose 95 per cent since 2021, reaching $128.4 million in losses in the year prior.
Index analysis
The scam operated as a pump-and-dump scheme using AI-generated deepfake videos of the economist to establish credibility, followed by manipulation of stock prices to create false profit signals before dramatic collapses.
Similar scams targeting other finance professionals were identified in the same period, including fake ads impersonating BMO chief investment strategist Brian Belski with hyper-realistic AI-generated videos, and deepfakes of Financial Times economics commentator Martin Wolf. Meta's Ad Library data showed deepfakes of Wolf reached nearly one million users by the end of April in the EU alone.
Governance controls
Rosenberg and his firm reported the scam to both Meta Platforms Inc. and Toronto police, but ads continued to circulate for months. Meta spokesperson Julia Perreira stated the ad content violated company policies and that Meta removes scam ads when detected.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.