Martin Lewis, the founder of MoneySavingExpert, has issued a warning after a deepfake video of him was used to promote a fraudulent investment scheme. The video, which uses artificial intelligence to replicate his face and voice, falsely claims to promote an app linked to Elon Musk.
Speaking on ITV's Good Morning Britain, Mr Lewis described the video as 'frightening' and called on the government to regulate deepfake media. 'This is the first deepfake scam advert that we've seen,' he said. 'It's an absolutely terrifying development.'
The deepfake shows Mr Lewis in his office, supposedly endorsing an investment called Quantum AI, described as Elon Musk's new project. It includes a caption styled similarly to ITV's This Morning, a show Mr Lewis regularly appears on.
The video first appeared on Facebook but has since been reported on Instagram. Mr Lewis warned that the scam is an attempt by criminals to steal money. 'This is a scam by criminals trying to steal money,' he wrote on Twitter. 'Government and regulators must step up to stop big tech publishing such dangerous fakes.'
MoneySavingExpert advises anyone who sees the video to inform the person sharing it that it is a scam. Mr Lewis never does adverts or promotes investments. Anyone who receives a similar message should not engage with it and should report it to Action Fraud.
