The Spanish police arrested six people behind a large-scale cryptocurrency scam. The scam used AI tools to create deepfake advertisements featuring famous public figures in order to lure people.
This scam was very successful and defrauded 208 victims around the world of 19 million Euros ($20.9M).
Two years ago, a victim filed a complaint that led to the police operation codenamed “COINBLACK – WENDMINE,” . Six people aged between 34 and 57 were arrested in the regions Granada and Alicante.
In addition, 100,000 Euros in cash, mobile phones and computers, hard drives, documents, and firearms were seized by the police during raids.
In their announcement, the police emphasized the complexity of the operation by explaining that the criminals created multiple shell corporations to launder the proceeds of crime. The group’s leader was using over 50 different aliases at the same time.
Multiple phases of the scam
This scam had several phases, beginning with “romance baiting” or threat actors posing “financial advisors” before ending with a twist involving fake money recovery claims.
The victims were selected by algorithms that selected people whose profiles matched cybercriminals’ targeting requirements. They were then targeted by AI-generated ads.
“With the help of Artificial Intelligence, the scammers created fake ads featuring well-known national figures apparently recommending investing in these products,” explains what the Policia National announcementis about.
“This significantly increased the victims’ trust in the security and profitability of the investments.”
The victims initially saw high returns on what was essentially a fake platform that generated false figures.
The scammers, who pretended to be financial advisors, or even to have a romantic relationship with the victims, told them at some point that their investments were blocked and they could only recover their money if they paid a large amount.
The scammers contacted the victims again in the final phase. They posed as Europol agents, or UK lawyers and claimed that their funds were recovered. All they needed to do was pay local taxes to get the money back.
Police warn the public not to trust promises of guaranteed returns, and to always verify the legitimacy of an investment platform prior depositing funds. Other red flags are pressure to invest, inability of withdrawal, unexpected balance “blocks,” or claims about additional “fees/taxes” needed to withdraw money.
It is now possible to create realistic AI-generated deepfake video, so users shouldn’t be influenced by celebrities supposedly promoting investments platforms.
