Top Aussie public figures impersonated in investment scams

ASIC is warning Australians that a quick online search may no longer be enough to verify an investment opportunity, as scammers increasingly use generative AI to create deepfake videos, fake websites and bogus endorsements featuring celebrities and politicians.

New data from Australia's National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC) reveals some of the country's most impersonated public figures in online investment scams during the 2026 financial year. Reports to Scamwatch involving these impersonations were associated with $7.4 million in losses.

Key takeaways

• Anthony Albanese, Dick Smith, Gina Rinehart and Alan Kohler are among the well-known Australians impersonated by investment scammers.
• Scamwatch reports linked impersonations of the most-copied public figures to $7.4 million in losses during FY26.
• AI is making impersonation scams more convincing. ASIC has seen a sharp rise in scams using deepfake videos of celebrities and politicians.
• The fake celebrity endorsement may be only the first stage. Scammers may surround fraudulent investments with fake news articles, reviews, websites, comments, phone calls and investment platforms.
• Bitdefender Labs has observed the same investment scam playbook at scale, including fake news, public-figure impersonation, social media ads and investment funnels operating across multiple countries.
• Don't rely on a familiar face or a quick Google search before investing. Verify investments independently and investigate suspicious videos, websites and messages before handing over money or personal information.

Who are the top Aussie public figures impersonated in investment scams?

According to ASIC and  National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC) data for FY26, the most impersonated Australian public figures were:

1. Anthony Albanese
2. Tom Piotrowski
3. Alan Kohler
4. Stephen Koukoulas
5. Jacqui Lambie and Angus Taylor, who appear together in the same scam
6. Dick Smith
7. Gina Rinehart
8. Alan Oster
9. Pauline Hanson
10. John Laws

The list brings together politicians, economists, business figures, financial commentators and broadcasters.

Someone scrolling through social media may know little about an unfamiliar investment platform. But put a familiar politician, economist or business leader in the advertisement and the proposition suddenly has an apparent stamp of credibility.

ASIC describes this as exploiting "social proof," with scammers deliberately misusing the images of trusted people to make fraudulent investments appear legitimate.

The celebrities impersonated can also change quickly. ASIC warns that scammers follow the news cycle and opportunistically switch the celebrities and public figures they mimic to take advantage of whatever people are currently talking about.

Why are AI investment scams getting harder to spot?

ASIC warns that scammers are using generative AI to construct a much larger "web of deception" around fraudulent investment opportunities.

You might see a social media ad featuring a familiar Australian. Clicking it could take you to what looks like a legitimate news article with an endorsement from that person and comments from supposed investors.

Naturally, you might become suspicious and search for the company yourself.

That's where things get particularly tricky.

Scammers can create an entire online footprint for a fictitious investment brand, including supportive articles, ads, websites and positive reviews. In other words, some of the information you discover while trying to verify the investment may have been planted by the scammers themselves.

ASIC Chair Sarah Court warned that AI is making investment scams "more convincing and harder to detect," adding that a simple web search is no longer enough to determine whether an investment opportunity is genuine.

“The presence of polished content, familiar branding or convincing testimonials does not mean an investment is legitimate,” Court explained.

“AI is making investment scams more convincing and harder to detect. A simple online search is not enough to verify whether an opportunity is legitimate. Before investing, consumers should verify website addresses, check whether a person or company is legitimate and who they claim to be, and be wary of urgent calls to act.”

What happens after you click a fake investment ad?

Once scammers have convinced someone that an investment opportunity is legitimate, the operation can move into a more personal stage.

ASIC says victims who provide their details may receive scripted phone calls from scammers. They can also be directed to fake investment platforms designed to make the scheme look real.

Some scammers may even make small payments to the victim to showcase their initial profits and make them feel comfortable investing significantly more money. Unfortunately, the so-called investment may not exist at all. ASIC says money sent by victims can instead end up directly in the hands of overseas criminals.

Bitdefender Labs has seen this investment scam playbook operating globally

Earlier this year, we documented a large-scale investment-scam ecosystem built around many of the same techniques highlighted by ASIC.

Between Feb. 9 and March 5, 2026, Bitdefender Labs researchers analyzed 310 coordinated malvertising campaigns generating more than 26,000 ad sightings across at least 25 countries and more than 15 languages.

Different countries received different celebrities, politicians, banks and media organizations, but the underlying scam remained remarkably consistent.

The ad could appear to point to a trusted website, but the redirect infrastructure would move users elsewhere. Victims would then encounter a fake news article or dramatic story encouraging them to register for an investment opportunity.

Once they submitted their name, phone number and email address, the investment scam entered its next stage.

Bitdefender Labs found that victims could receive calls from supposed brokers within minutes or hours. They were encouraged to make an initial deposit and could then be shown fake dashboards displaying fabricated profits.

Australia has become a major target for scam advertising

Separate Bitdefender Labs research into malvertising across the Asia-Pacific region shows just how significant Australia has become for this type of activity.

Between January and April 2026, researchers tracked more than 12,000 scam campaigns and over 400,000 ad sightings across 13 APAC countries.

Australia alone accounted for 52% of all scam campaigns observed in the research.

Finance was the second-largest scam category, representing 18% of the campaigns.

Researchers repeatedly encountered advertisements using trusted brands, familiar personalities and fake news stories to attract attention. One prominent pattern involved fabricated breaking-news stories featuring central banks, economists or celebrities, including campaigns connected to the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Could you recognize an AI-generated Anthony Albanese or Gina Rinehart?

There's another problem consumers increasingly must consider. The person appearing in the video might never have recorded it.

ASIC says it has seen a sharp rise in online scams involving deepfake videos of celebrities and politicians encouraging Australians to invest.

Modern AI-generated videos can make a recognizable person appear to say things they never said, including endorsing an investment platform or promising extraordinary financial returns.

Trying to identify those videos purely by looking for strange facial movements or unnatural voices is becoming increasingly unreliable.

Bitdefender RealCheck provides another way to investigate suspicious videos before trusting them. The app analyzes video and audio and produces a report indicating whether content appears likely authentic or altered, while also assessing whether it shows signs of deceptive intent.

Users can paste public video links from platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube or upload supported video files directly for analysis.

You may also want to read:

• Is that video real? How to spot a deepfake before it fools you
• Common deepfake red flags everyone should know about
• Deepfakes are making romance scams harder to doubt
• Deepfake celebrity scams are booming. Creators should pay attention

How can Australians protect themselves from celebrity investment scams?

Stop and think before you trust a familiar face in an ad talking about investments. Seeing Anthony Albanese, Gina Rinehart, Dick Smith, Alan Kohler or another well-known Australian in an ad doesn't mean they actually endorsed the investment. If the claim is genuine, you should be able to confirm it through the person's official channels or reputable news sources.

Do your own research. Avoid using the links provided in the ad or by the person contacting you. Look up the company independently and make sure you're visiting its genuine website. The same goes for reviews and news stories, scammers can create those too.

Check the license yourself. If a company claims to hold an Australian Financial Services License, verify the name and license number through ASIC's professional registers. And remember, scammers can copy the details of legitimate businesses.

See if ASIC has already flagged it. Check the Moneysmart Investor Alert List to see whether the company or investment has been identified as suspicious.

Be wary of unexpected calls from "brokers." If you submit your phone number and someone calls soon afterward promising impressive returns or offering to manage your investment, don't let yourself be rushed into making a deposit. Take the time to verify who you're actually speaking with.

Don't believe the numbers on a trading dashboard. Seeing your supposed investment grow can be convincing, but a balance on a screen doesn't mean the money exists or that you'll ever be able to withdraw it.

Question the video, too. If a celebrity, politician or financial expert suddenly appears in a video promoting an investment, consider whether you're actually watching that person. Bitdefender RealCheck can analyze suspicious video and audio for signs of AI manipulation and deception, giving you another way to check before you trust what you see.

Give suspicious links a second look. Scam campaigns ultimately want you to click, sign up, hand over information or pay. Bitdefender Scam Protection can detect dangerous links arriving through SMS, messaging apps and notifications, while Web Protection can help block phishing pages when you try to visit them.

And if something simply doesn't feel right, you don't have to figure it out alone. Bitdefender Scamio can analyze suspicious messages, screenshots, links and conversations, while Bitdefender Link Checker lets you check an unfamiliar URL before opening it – all for free.