A Queensland couple have lost their entire superannuation savings after falling victim to a sophisticated deep-fake scam that used the images of prominent Australians to promote a fraudulent online trading scheme.
Ron and Paula, who asked to be identified only by their first names, lost $220,000 after being duped by scammers who used artificial intelligence to create realistic videos featuring mining magnate Gina Rinehart, businessman Dick Smith, and other well-known figures. The couple had previously lost the same amount in a similar scam.
'It's horrible, it's the worst feeling, you don't talk to your friends about it because you're embarrassed,' Paula told A Current Affair. 'They put us on a rollercoaster ride, highs and lows and highs and lows … from a $350 investment to be talked into actually losing all my superannuation,' Ron added.
The deep-fake videos were so convincing that even Dick Smith himself was initially fooled. 'I thought they'd done an interview somewhere that I'd forgotten about but then I realised no, it wasn't me,' he said. Smith has urged Australians to avoid any products advertised on social media, warning they are likely scams.
Mining billionaire Gina Rinehart has written to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg about the issue, while Andrew Forrest is suing the company. The government's National Anti-Scam Centre reported that Australians lost over $455 million to scams in 2023, with more than 280,000 incidents reported.
Media lawyer Justin Quill noted that victims may find it nearly impossible to achieve justice, as identifying and suing the perpetrators is extremely difficult. 'The first step in any legal proceeding is working out who you're going to enforce those rights against,' he said.
