Middle-aged woman loses €53,000 to deepfake PM investment scam on Facebook and Telegram

Summary

A woman lost €53,000 in a scam after watching deepfake videos featuring Prime Minister Robert Abela on Facebook. The incident occurred in July, when the victim came across a video promoting an investment scheme on July 22. Two days later, she saw additional videos featuring other public figures, including Simon Busuttil, Joseph Muscat, and Ursula von der Leyen. After clicking a link and providing personal and banking information during a call with a +44 number, she was persuaded to invest €250, then €25,000 in cash. The scam involved a supposed financial advisor named "Maria Lipinski," who directed her to install Telegram and AnyDesk to facilitate cryptocurrency trading. The victim was later threatened with legal action and scammed out of additional funds before realizing the scam and reporting it to the police.