New data reveals that criminals are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deepfakes to their advantage to carry out fraudulent investment schemes.
The City of London Police released its Report Fraud Annual assessment on October 27, revealing that cybercriminals stole £24.3 million through investment fraud between the months of January and August 2026.
This was achieved through a variation of fraudulent schemes including professional-looking advertisements, AI generated versions of well-known and trusted figures shown endorsing fake schemes, fake high-tech trading and investment platforms.
Cybercriminals are specifically targeting an older demographic of individuals aged 60 and over, with research showing that demographic make up nearly 80% of the reported cases.
Commander Ollie Shaw at the City of London Police said: “The tactics criminals are deploying to commit investment fraud are becoming ever more sophisticated.
“Increasingly, we are seeing various forms of AI, including deepfakes, being used to make fraudulent investment schemes appear legitimate, and ultimately more enticing to potential victims.”
A recent Veriff Deepfakes Report highlighted a persistent psychological trend surrounding people’s confidence and their ability to identify deepfakes.
In that report, Ira Bondar-Mucci, Fraud Platform Lead at Veriff, said: “Human judgement is becoming an increasingly unreliable safeguard, and verification needs to be built into systems by default.”
Fraudsters and cybercriminals are frequently using AI and deepfakes to strengthen the believability of their scams to make it look as real as possible.
According to the Report Fraud Annual assessment there has been more than 1,300 reports of these fraudulent investment schemes.
As a result of these statistics, Commander Shaw said: “Anyone considering making an investment should take their time and conduct thorough research.
“This includes using the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Firm Checker to establish if a company is authorized to provide investment services.”
The government is urging the public to follow specific guidance when encountering potential scams and to remain vigilant as Artificial Intelligence is developing at an unprecedented rate.
Featured image credit: Igor Omilaev
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