Policymakers must recognize that Australians are falling victim to more advanced deepfake scams almost daily. It follows reports of a dangerous increase in the use of voice cloning technology and fake celebrity endorsements. These deepfake ads often promote untested weight loss pills. This practice not only leads to financial losses but contributes to the increasing distrust of consumers for the online marketplace. Meta’s huge revenue increases—up 70% last quarter—have come mostly from this very same drain of ad dollars, despite the increased fraudulent activity.
Sanjay Jha announced a thrilling development. So when he told the audience that anyone could now clone a voice with just a matter of seconds of audio—Scammers have taken advantage of this powerful feature to create highly realistic scam ads. One recent example includes our own Norman Swan promoting an experimental, unproven weight loss supplement in the guise of a fake advertisement.
Financial Impact on Victims
Those investigations bring to light troubling stories from consumers who have lost thousands of dollars because of these misleading advertisements. David, one of the people taken advantage of, was tricked by a deepfake promotional video with actress Rebel Wilson. He discontinued use of his prescribed medication. He supplemented his misguided diet plan with shady counsel from a one-time ad he believed was legitimate.
Janis felt the immediate financial jolt when $300 was taken out of her bank account. She certainly didn’t approve this transaction, which makes her yet another victim in this mess. She expressed her dismay, stating, “It was horrible because I thought this was really real. So it took me back because I had thought I’d just bought this miracle drug.” Now, people like her are being forced to ask whether health-related advertisements they see online is even real.
Each deepfake video often leads you to shady websites selling products such as Keto Flow + ACV. This begs even more questions about the legitimacy of these offerings. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has been leading the charge to keep tabs on these scams via its National Anti-Scam Centre.
Challenges in Addressing Deepfake Scams
Even with concerted efforts to address these scams, there are hurdles when it comes to getting these counterfeit ads down from social media sites. Professor Jonathan Shaw highlighted the difficulties faced in getting such ads taken down, indicating that “Facebook have always said they’re not publishers — it’s the people that use Facebook that are the publishers.” This claim conveniently opens a loophole for Meta. It enables them to avoid public accountability while continuing to cash in on billions in advertising profits.
Rod McGuinness, the ABC’s social community lead, echoed this frustration regarding Meta’s lack of responsibility in addressing fake ads. He stressed the importance of enforcement and stronger measures to hold platforms accountable for the harmful content they continue to host on their platforms.
Nathaniel Gleicher, Meta’s global head of counter fraud, admitted that it was a difficult problem to tackle. He noted that scammers are quick to adapt their tactics, stating, “They’re very quick to adjust their tactics to defeat any defences you put in place.” Yet in Q4 of last year, Gleicher’s team took action on more than a billion inauthentic accounts. Still, he lamented, many scams are able to escape the system.
Behind the Scams: Companies and Operations
Digging into the organizations and companies operating these misleading ads reveal disturbing ties. More than 2,700 registered businesses are connected to listings promoting major brand products including Keto Flow + ACV. Vellec Group NZ Ltd, Healthy Life Choices NZ Ltd and Apex United Pty Ltd have their registered offices in Christchurch. In addition, they currently run services on the Gold Coast. It is said that many of the people who work in these shams are actually family, indicating an organized effort to take advantage of helpless consumers.
This level of sophistication suggests these scams are usually supported by better-resourced organized criminal entities that prey on at-risk communities. Gleicher commented on the scale of these operations, asserting, “We’re talking about sophisticated operations working at industrial scale, often backed by criminal organisations that are highly resourced and are looking to target people wherever they can find them.”
People’s trust as consumers With the increasing concerns surrounding deepfake technology, their effects on the trust is frightening. Professors such as Professor Shaw caution that these scams can undermine public social trust in accurate health messaging. He remarked on the potential consequences of these fraudulent activities: “Maybe all sorts of useful things that I and other people might say about health will not be trusted.”
