Scammers creating AI deepfakes of Sky News journalists to promote illegal casino apps

What's happening?

Sky News journalists have discovered that scammers are using AI-generated deepfake videos of their faces to promote illegal gambling apps. What initially appeared to be a single shoddy deepfake turned out to be part of a massive scam operation involving thousands of fake videos.

How the scam works

The fraudsters have been remarkably clever about evading Apple's vetting process:

1. They create seemingly innocent apps that look like children's games with cartoon characters
2. Many apps even had a 4+ age rating in the App Store
3. Once approved and installed, these apps transform into illegal, unlicensed casinos
4. The scammers used AI deepfakes of trusted journalists to falsely promote these apps
5. They even stole the identities of legitimate companies to appear as the app developers

The dangers for users

The Gambling Commission expressed serious concerns about these illegal casinos:

• No protection for users' financial data
• Personal information could be harvested, stolen, and misused
• No regulatory safeguards whatsoever

Apple's response

Apple explained that the casinos were hidden within legitimate-looking game code during the vetting process. Cybersecurity experts noted that the initial games shown to Apple were likely AI-generated to help scammers work faster.

What's being done

Apple quickly removed the flagged apps, and the Gambling Commission took action to block the casinos. However, with powerful tools like generative AI becoming more accessible, consumers need to remain vigilant against increasingly sophisticated scams.

The identity theft angle

Real companies had their names used without permission, including:

• A Welsh marketing company
• A New York youth charity
• A Soho-based utility bill payment assistance company

One affected business owner expressed panic about the situation, noting the damage to customer trust when their brand appears associated with gambling scams.

As AI continues to evolve, staying alert to potential scams becomes increasingly important for all smartphone users.