Deepfake celebrity scams are booming. Creators should pay attention

A recent article from AI-powered sponsorship management platform Sponsorflo raised an interesting question: could the rise of deepfake celebrity scams change how brands choose influencers and ambassadors?

Their argument is simple. Cybercriminals overwhelmingly target the world's most recognizable celebrities because their personas generate clicks, trust, and engagement. From fake Elon Musk crypto promotions to AI-generated videos featuring actors, athletes, and TV personalities, scammers know that a familiar face can persuade people to lower their guard enough to become victims of fraud.

Key takeaways

• Deepfake scams most often target major celebrities because their likenesses generate trust and engagement.
• Some industry experts believe brands could increasingly partner with mid-tier influencers and creators as concerns about AI impersonation grow.
• Creators are already targeted through fake sponsorship offers, phishing campaigns, malware, and account takeover attacks.

As deepfake scams continue to spread, some industry observers believe brands may increasingly favor mid-tier celebrities, niche experts, athletes, and creators whose audiences value authenticity and whose profiles are less likely to attract attention from fraudsters.

It's an intriguing theory. But from a cybersecurity perspective, there's an important caveat: while scammers may be less likely to build large-scale deepfake campaigns around low- and mid-tier creators today, those creators remain highly attractive targets for account takeovers, fake sponsorship scams, phishing attacks, and other forms of cybercrime.

Celebrity deepfakes are effective, and we’ve seen them over and over

Scammers have always relied on trust, and today’s technology allows them to impersonate people, Hollywood celebs, public figures, and online personas. Why? Because a convincing video featuring a celebrity appears more authentic than an unsolicited email, for example.  If viewers believe a famous actor, athlete, entrepreneur, politician or television personality is endorsing a product, investment platform, or giveaway, they may be more likely to engage.

That's why celebrity deepfake scams frequently promote cryptocurrency investments, trading platforms, financial opportunities, giveaways and contests, as well as health and wellness products.

We’ve seen these tactics repeatedly, with cybercriminals adapting content and testing new templates and scenarios on consumers across every continent. Their goal isn't necessarily to convince everyone. Scammers only need a small percentage of viewers to believe the endorsement and fall into their net.

The problem extends far beyond a handful of isolated incidents. Research from Bitdefender has documented numerous campaigns leveraging AI-generated content, impersonation tactics, and deepfake technology to deceive users across multiple platforms.

In one investigation, Bitdefender researchers uncovered scam advertisements impersonating trusted media outlets such as BBC and The Guardian to promote fraudulent investment schemes. Another analysis of the APAC malvertising ecosystem revealed how cybercriminals weaponize social media advertising and fake endorsements to reach massive audiences. We’ve also documented AI-powered health and supplement scams that use fabricated testimonials, deepfake videos and misleading promotional content to market questionable products.

Most importantly, this trend isn't limited to regular consumers. Bitdefender Labs has also observed how cybercriminals combine deepfake technology with account takeover attacks targeting YouTube creators. In some cases, attackers hijack legitimate channels and use AI-generated videos featuring well-known personalities to amplify cryptocurrency scams. Additional research has uncovered a growing wave of audio deepfake scams that use cloned celebrity voices to promote fake giveaways and fraudulent investment opportunities across social media platforms.

Taken together, these cases illustrate a broader shift in online fraud. Rather than relying solely on fake emails or suspicious websites, scammers are increasingly using artificial intelligence to manufacture credibility at scale, making it harder for users to distinguish legitimate endorsements from carefully crafted deception.

Creators may face fewer deepfakes now, but not fewer threats

According to Sponsorflo, the celebrity deepfake epidemic may accelerate a trend already underway in influencer marketing.

Rather than focusing exclusively on massive celebrity endorsements, brands have increasingly turned toward creators, niche experts, and mid-tier influencers whose audiences tend to be highly engaged and trust their recommendations.

The reasoning is practical.

A global celebrity represents a valuable target for scammers because impersonating them can potentially reach millions of people. A creator with a smaller but loyal audience may offer brands strong engagement while attracting less deepfake-related scammers.

Of course, there are exceptions. Some creators have become so influential that they have become celebrities in their own right.

MrBeast, for example, has repeatedly been impersonated in scam advertisements, fake giveaways, and fraudulent promotions that exploit his enormous popularity and audience trust. When a creator reaches that level of recognition, they can become just as attractive to scammers as Hollywood stars, athletes, or business leaders.

But are most creators immune to threats? Definitely not.

And if deepfake scammers primarily focus on high-profile celebrities and mega-creators, does that mean everyone else is safer?

Not really.

Cybercriminals have spent years targeting content creators through attacks specifically designed to exploit their visibility and influence. Rather than creating a fake version of a creator, many attackers simply target the creator directly.

Bitdefender researchers uncovered more than 9,000 malicious livestreams on YouTube linked to compromised creator accounts. Researchers also identified more than 350 malicious domains promoted through these hijacked channels, while some of the affected accounts had amassed billions of cumulative views over their lifetimes.

In many cases, attackers gain access through fake sponsorship offers, fraudulent collaboration requests, phishing emails, or information-stealing malware. Once an account is compromised, criminals can rebrand channels, promote cryptocurrency scams, redirect followers to malicious websites, or launch fake giveaways that capitalize on the creator's reputation.

For cybercriminals, compromising a legitimate creator account can be more effective than generating a deepfake from scratch. Followers already trust the account, recognize the creator's content, and are more likely to engage with links, livestreams, and promotions shared through an established channel.

In other words, while celebrities may be the face of today's deepfake endorsement scam epidemic, creators remain highly attractive targets because of the trust and influence they've built with their audiences.

And remember: for scammers, size isn't everything. You don't need a million followers to land on a cybercriminal's radar. The moment you begin building an engaged audience, your account becomes a more attractive target. And as your channel grows, so does the potential return for attackers looking to hijack your reputation and exploit the trust you've earned from your followers.

How creators can protect their reputation and audience

As a creator, you spend years building trust with your audience. Losing control of an account can damage both your account's reputation and income.

To reduce your risk:

• Verify sponsorship offers through official channels.
• Be cautious with attachments and download links.
• Use unique passwords for every account.
• Enable multi-factor authentication.
• Regularly review account permissions and connected applications.
• Protect devices against malware and credential theft.

As cybercriminals continue to target creators through phishing, malware, and account takeover campaigns, dedicated protection can play an important role.

Bitdefender Security for Creators was designed specifically to help content creators secure their accounts, detect malicious activity, identify suspicious links, and defend against the types of attacks commonly used to compromise online brands and communities.