Deepfake Advert Scam Costs Man £76,000, Martin Lewis Responds

Money saving expert Martin Lewis expressed, “It’s quite difficult for me to have to sit in the same room as you,” upon the arrival of Des Healey, a kitchen fitter from Brighton, at the BBC Radio 5 Live studio. Des, like numerous others, had been defrauded by a scam advertisement on Facebook that featured a deepfake of Martin alongside tech billionaire Elon Musk, endorsing a fictitious bitcoin investment scheme. Meta, the company owning Facebook, recently declared its intention to implement facial recognition technology to combat scammers who illicitly employ celebrities in advertisements. Martin Lewis stated he holds the “weird accolade” of being the most frequently scammed public figure in Britain. On his BBC Sounds podcast, he remarked, “I’ve spent my entire career trying to help consumers, and these criminals, thieves, organised crime people have perverted my reputation.” Martin conveyed to Des the difficulty of encountering an individual who has fallen for a scam utilizing his likeness, understanding that they “trusted what I was doing” when investing their funds, which ultimately cost Des £76,000. In August 2023, Des encountered the fraudulent investment scheme advertisement on Facebook, which falsely presented itself as being led by the pair. Artificial intelligence (AI) was employed to alter Martin’s actual voice, creating the impression that he was conducting a television interview from his residence, promoting an investment initiative by Musk. Des informed Martin, “I have witnessed you a few times on TV stating that you never put your name to these things, so why on that particular day it sold it to me, I do not know… I really don’t.” Des, a self-employed tradesperson, explained that he viewed the advertisement as a chance to “earn a few extra bob” quickly before Christmas during a slow period for his business. Following his response to the advertisement with his contact information, Des received a phone call within 10 minutes, connecting him with a man who asserted he possessed more than 20 years of experience as a financial adviser. Identifying himself as Carl, he established an account for Des with Revolut, an e-money company serving nine million customers in the UK, and secured an initial investment of £1,000. Carl informed Des that “profitable months” were approaching and that they would “earn a hell of a lot more” if his money was invested “as soon as we can.” Soon after the initial investment, it seemed Des’s money was returned to his Revolut account; however, it remains uncertain whether the display Des observed was genuinely his account or a fabricated page managed by the scammer. Placing his trust in Carl, Des subsequently transferred £5,000 into the Revolut account, representing the entirety of his life savings. Des clarified, “To get the £5,000 back, you had to invest £10,000,” adding, “I wasn’t allowed to withdraw anything until the day that he tells me I can.” The £5,000 Des had transferred was subsequently moved from the Revolut account by the scammer, purportedly for investment. Des eventually secured four loans from four distinct providers, amounting to £70,000, to continue the investments. It was at this point that his son overheard one of the phone conversations with Carl and expressed apprehension upon noticing background music. He recounted his son inquiring, “What bank or call centre would be playing a rap song?” before advising his father to contact the police, suspecting “this isn’t right.” Reflecting on his experience as a scam victim, Des described it as though a “spell was cast upon me.” Martin commended Des as “brave and admirable” for sharing his story, serving as “a warning flag” for others. He further stated that scammers are “psychologically adept at manipulating us, use huge online and intellectual resources in order to steal our money… falling for scams does not make you a mug – makes you a victim, but it doesn’t make you a mug.” Providing advice on how to avoid becoming a scam victim, Martin cautioned against “urgency.” He explained, “The more urgent and the less people you can tell – the more secret, the more likely it is to be a scam.” Another piece of advice is that if you receive an unsolicited call from your bank or a company you interact with, requesting information, you should “hang up politely” and then call them back. Martin recommended, “I would preferably call back on a different phone, just in case they’re keeping the dial number on.” He suggested that “if you don’t have another phone, you could wait 10 or 15 minutes or call a family member first.” He also advised people to “be very careful” when prompted to click on a link “or if you receive a text asking you to reply ‘stop’.” He warned, “You have to be aware that by sending stop, you’ve just notified them that you’re a real mobile phone number and you could get more scams on the back.” Following the report of the scam to the police, two of the banks from which Des had borrowed money have since cancelled his loans. He currently owes £20,000, in addition to nearly £6,000 in interest, to two distinct companies and is consulting with the financial ombudsman regarding his available options. After finally meeting Martin and recounting his scam experience, Des expressed gratitude for the opportunity, stating that “Martin is a good guy.” Des added, “[He] said after the podcast that I have probably helped a lot of people… I was very pleased I [spoke out].” A Revolut spokesperson conveyed regret concerning any situation where “customers are targeted by ruthless and highly sophisticated criminals.” The statement further noted: “Revolut works hard and invests heavily to protect our customers as best we can through our fraud prevention technologies, analysing over half a billion transactions a month.” Additional information and support are accessible via BBC’s Scam Safe Week. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content of external sites. Information regarding their approach to external linking is available.