Consumer group Which? has warned that realistic deepfake videos are leaving the public “at the mercy of scammers” after an experiment found that hundreds of adults were unable to identify AI-generated content. The organisation is urging the Government to ensure regulator Ofcom can take decisive action against technology companies that fail to block fraudulent schemes.
A Which? survey of 514 adults, who were shown a mix of AI deepfakes and real videos, found that seven in ten failed to correctly distinguish all the genuine and fake clips. Eight per cent got every one wrong, while 21% managed to identify only a single correct video. Even experts at Kingston University, who were shown the same videos, failed to correctly identify all the content.
One particularly convincing deepfake depicted Boots staff promoting an unlicensed weight loss product. A spokesperson for the health and beauty retailer said: “These adverts are fake and we urge customers to be vigilant. We proactively monitor for this type of content on social media and report any we identify to the platform owners and request that they are urgently removed.”
Half of survey participants who use social media said they believe they see deepfake videos at least once a day. Global tech strategists Juniper Research estimates that social media companies made nearly £3.8 billion in 2025 from scam adverts in Europe alone. Which? said the Home Office’s fraud strategy, published earlier this year, will fail to stop scams reaching people in the first place.
Rocio Concha, Which? head of policy and advocacy, said: “Our investigation into deepfakes on social media shows the public – and even experts – are increasingly at the mercy of scammers exploiting inadequate security on social media platforms. This is troubling as we believe the tech giants who profit from scams on their platforms will not take enough action against fraudsters unless they are legally compelled to do so. Ofcom must stop kicking the can down the road and implement the Online Safety Act’s measures on fraudulent advertising as soon as possible and the Government must ensure that it does so urgently and robustly.” A Government spokesperson responded: “Scammers who trick people into parting with their money are committing a criminal offence and should expect to be punished. This Government is backing words with action, delivering £79 million this year to tackle fraud head-on. We’ve published a Fraud Strategy to protect consumers and disrupt criminal networks. But platforms also have a responsibility to ensure their sites are not providing a forum for material intended to scam the public. Under the Online Safety Act, services that allow users to upload content or interact with others, including social media platforms, must proactively tackle illegal fraudulent content – or face consequences.”
