Skip to content
Submit incident
AII-1001-35799
Under investigationA regulator, court or police has opened a formal inquiry and reached no finding yet.Supporting sources are pending verification.

Investment Scam Using AI-Generated Celebrity Videos in Bursa

A 73-year-old man in Bursa, Turkey was defrauded of 10,200 lira after viewing AI-generated videos of celebrities promoting fake investment schemes on social media. Police launched an investigation after the victim became suspicious when scammers requested his government credentials.

21 September 2025 · Ersin Aşka · Fraud, scams and manipulation
21 September 2025
AII-1001-35799
Quick facts
Category
Fraud, scams and manipulation
Country
Türkiye
Date
21 September 2025
Drafted by
Raidu Incident Detection

What happened

A 73-year-old resident of Bursa, Turkey, Ersin Aşka, encountered investment videos on social media featuring AI-generated footage of celebrities speaking about investment opportunities.

Aşka transferred 10,200 Turkish lira from his life savings to what he believed was an investment account. When the scammers requested his e-Government password, he became suspicious and reported the incident to police.

Police launched a broad investigation to identify and apprehend the scammers responsible for taking the victim's money.

Reported impact

Aşka lost his entire life savings of 10,200 Turkish lira to the fraud scheme.

The victim expressed concern that others might fall victim to the same trap.

Index analysis

The scam exploited deepfake video technology to impersonate celebrities and create false credibility for fraudulent investment schemes on social media platforms.

Classification

Category
Fraud, scams and manipulation
Industry
Financial and insurance services
Country
Türkiye
Harm status
Actual harm
Intent
Intentional
Timing
Unknown
Harm types
Economic or property
Harmed
Consumers
Failure modes
Deepfake video, Manipulation or dark pattern
Consequences
Police investigation
AI systems
Deepfake technology

Sources and evidence

Sources not yet published

This record was researched and written by the Index from original reporting. Its sources are still being verified by an editor, and they are listed here once that check is complete. Until then the record carries no reviewer.

How sources are verifiedSuggest a source for this incident