Deepfake with the image of Ilie Bolojan who urges “investments” in Neptun Deep. How the fraud scheme works
A false video, created with artificial intelligence, uses the image of the President of the Senate, Ilie Bolojan, to promote so-called investments in the Neptun Deep project, draws attention to the National Cyber Security Directorate (DNSC).
“Alert – the online fraud attempts with false investments, who use the image of people with notoriety in Romania are returned.
The video falsely shows Ilie Bolojan who promotes an investment program from which Romanians who “invest from 1,250 lei receive regular payments, directly proportional to the volume of gases extracted and sold”.
How the fraud scheme works
DNSC also explains the method used for online scam.
“A false investment platform, created by criminals from the online environment in order to steal money from Credul users, uses Deepfake technology for generating clips with a modified message. As can be seen from today's examples, criminals use some public videos with politicians in Romania (the president, the prime minister, etc.).
“More precisely, after processing these clips with the help of Deepfake, people in the video seem to promote an investment program that would bring potential investors with big profits. By this method, criminals in the online environment are trying to attract potential victims to convince them to provide sensitive data or to invest money in this information. DNSC.
How do you recognize a Deepfake
The institution also mentions some aspects to be taken into account to recognize a Deepfake.
- The lip movement is not synchronized with the voice
- Facial expressions are rigid or unnatural
- The background looks artificial or animated
- Eyes that do not blink natural or “empty” looks
“If you notice such materials online, do not distribute them and do not interact with the platform. Report the content and alert the competent authorities!”, Says DNSC.
