- Which? has identified deepfake scams on YouTube targeting consumers
- These encourage the public to invest in fake schemes
- Which? urges governments and tech companies to remove these
New survey from the consumer group Which? has called on the government to implement stricter regulations on Big Tech companies to protect internet users from AI-powered scams.
Investigations by the group discovered convincing video spoofs of financial journalist (and trusted source) Martin Lewis, as well as UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer advising the public to invest in fraudulent schemes, and the deeply fake videos give the impression that these scams are government-backed and ‘risk-free’.
AI impersonation scams have skyrocketed in 2025 so far, and the rapidly evolving technology has made them increasingly difficult to spot.
Danger to customers
The consumer group has now called out tech companies like YouTube, X (formerly Twitter) and Meta for their apparent ‘reluctance to block dangerous and misleading content’; and further calls on the government to “ensure that its upcoming fraud strategy includes tough measures to hold Big Tech companies accountable.”
The Financial Conduct Authority follows general guidance warning against relying on advice from unvetted financial influencers – but around a fifth (20%) of those who have made investments trust online influencers when making investment decisions.
Of course, deepfakes from truly reliable sources are a different story, so it’s important to review the content you’re viewing (ie, make sure it’s the official channel, with secure links and a legitimate website).
This is complicated by the fact that criminals are able, using artificial intelligence, to quickly and accurately create fake websites made to mimic respectable news outlets such as Which? And the BBC.
“AI makes it much harder to detect what is real and what is not,” points out Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?
“Fraudsters know this – and exploit it ruthlessly. All the while, Big Tech platforms that many of us use every day simply aren’t doing enough to prevent fraudsters from operating on their sites, putting their users at risk.”
“To properly protect British citizens from fraud, the Government must devise an action-focused fraud strategy that gets tough on Big Tech and other weak links that allow fraudsters to flourish online.”
That said, YouTube recently developed a tool to let creators flag AI-generated video clones, which won’t necessarily target deepfake financial fraud, but is hopefully a step in the right direction for identifying deepfake videos.
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