Deepfake video of Ilie Bolojan used in online investment fraud scheme
Deepfake videos of Romanian political figures Ilie Bolojan and Nicușor Dan were used in an online investment fraud scheme that circulated on social media platforms. The manipulated videos made the figures appear to promote a fake investment program called Neptune Deep, designed to steal money from users. The Romanian National Cyber Security Directorate identified and warned the public about the scheme.
What happened
Deepfake videos featuring Ilie Bolojan and Nicușor Dan circulated on social media platforms, including Meta and YouTube, in which the figures appeared to endorse an investment scheme called Neptune Deep.
Scammers used artificial intelligence to alter existing public videos of Romanian political figures, modifying the original message to make them appear to promote an investment program purportedly offering large profits from deposits starting at 1,250 lei.
Reported impact
The Directoratul Național pentru Securitate Cibernetică (DNSC) warned that the fraudulent platform aimed to steal money from credulous users by tricking them into providing sensitive data or investing in non-existent offers.
Index analysis
The DNSC identified this as part of an aggressive return of false investment scams, which Meta refers to as 'CELEBaits', following presidential elections.
The fraud scheme combined social engineering with deepfake technology to abuse the images of real people with public notoriety in Romania.
Governance controls
The DNSC issued public alerts warning users about the fraudulent videos and provided guidance on identifying deepfakes, such as lip-sync misalignment with audio.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.