A deepfake celebrity promoting an investment is a scam

A famous athlete or actress “recommends” an investment platform with guaranteed returns in a video. The voice matches, the face matches — and yet it’s a scam. In 2026, fake investment ads using deepfakes of well-known Poles became a plague, further fuelled by the emotions around the football World Cup.

How the scam works

The scheme is repeatable and well-honed:

1. A bait ad on social media with a deepfake of a celebrity and a promise of “guaranteed profit” or “a method the banks don’t want you to see”.
2. A contact form — the victim leaves a phone number.
3. A call from an “advisor”, who walks them step by step through registering on a fake platform and making a first, small deposit.
4. A fake dashboard shows growing profits, encouraging ever-larger top-ups.
5. When the victim tries to withdraw, “taxes” and “fees” appear — and the money never comes back anyway.

The scale is real: in 2025 CSIRT KNF flagged 9,751 fake ads for blocking, and in May 2026 alone reported 708 profiles publishing such content.

How to recognise a deepfake

The technology is getting better, but it still leaves traces:

• Unnatural intonation and “seams” in the voice — an artificial narrator, an odd sentence rhythm.
• Lip movement out of sync with the audio, “floating” face edges, strange blinking.
• A context that doesn’t fit the person — celebrities don’t advertise trading platforms with guaranteed returns.

But don’t rely on spotting artefacts alone — that’s a race the defence is losing. What matters more is the overriding rule.

The rule that always protects

Guaranteed profit does not exist. Any “investment” promising a sure, high return with pressure to decide quickly is a scam — no matter whose face is promoting it. Legitimate financial entities in Poland are listed in the KNF register; if a platform isn’t there, simply don’t use it.

Don’t call “advisors” back, don’t install “remote help” apps (a common element — screen and, in effect, banking takeover), and check KNF warnings. Report suspicious ads to CSIRT KNF and to the platform where you saw them.

Deepfakes have raised the credibility of an old scam, but they haven’t changed its foundation — it’s still social engineering feeding on greed and on trust in a familiar face.

Want to train your team to recognise deepfakes and social engineering, or test your organisation’s resilience to AI-powered manipulation? See our security and AI services or get in touch.

Sources and further reading: CSIRT KNF, CERT Orange Polska, Niebezpiecznik.