What happened

Scammers created a highly realistic deepfake video advert of Michael Hewson, the host of the Good Money Guide Podcast, leveraging his reputation and expertise to lure victims into joining a WhatsApp group promising lucrative investment opportunities. 

Shared on Facebook and Instagram, the video exploited psychological tactics such as the "fear of missing out" to manipulate viewers and was seen tens of thousands of times before Meta eventually removed it, despite it being reported multiple times as fraudulent.  

The scam caused reputational harm to Hewson and potential financial losses for victims of the fraudulent scheme.

Why it happened

Advances in AI technology have made it simple for anyone to create realistic deepfakes for fraud and other purposes. 

Social media companies, including Meta, have been widely criticised for their slow response in removing these kinds of scams, which are often promoted using targeted advertising tools.