AI Scammers Exploit Channel 9, Musk, Rinehart Likenesses to defraud Australians

Written By David Borgen

Billionaire Gina Rinehart, Nine News presenters Peter Overton and Allison Langdon, along with tech pioneer Elon Musk are once again having their likeness stolen by online scammers using artificial intelligence to target Australians.

An ad appearing on Instagram posted by a faceless user named Aussie Riches features manipulated footage to make it appear that their so-called “investment platform” was featured on Channel Nine’s A Current Affair and endorsed by billionaire Gina Rinehart, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and even the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency Advisor, Elon Musk.

The ad includes a supposed link to the Nine News website; however, it sends the viewer to aussieriches.com.

What does the deceptive ad show?

The deceptive ad opens with AI manipulated footage of Peter Overton speaking over the Channel 9 watermark with narration edited to say:

"In her latest interview, Gina Rinehart accused the Australian government of lying. She stated that Anthony Albanese is hiding a platform from the public that can help people make money. She reported that the platform kept secret by the government allows people to earn up to $30,000 per month with an investment of only $370.” – Scammer’s Fake Quote

Excerpt of AI generated scam ad appearing on Instagram

The ad then cuts to a manipulated video of Gina Rinehart saying:

“They keep hiding program and deleting my ads, maybe it’s a personal issue the government has with me. But the numbers don’t lie, people who invested $370 are earning up to $30,000 each month." – Scammers Fake Quote

The deceptive ad ends with a manipulated video of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “coming clean” about their conspiracy to hide this so-called “legal” platform from the Australian people.

"I understand that many questions arise as to why we have kept this platform hidden from Australian citizens. Since both the government and I are responsible for the state of the economy, we have decided to test this platform to ensure it was not a scam.

We wanted to verify personally that this platform could generate profits for thousands of Australian citizens. Now I can say that this platform is reliable and is already providing significant income for thousands of Australians. I can assure you that none of the investors will lose their money.

Since we withheld information about the platform, I now consider it my duty to recommend it to everyone.” – Scammers Fake Quote

Second excerpt of AI generated scam ad appearing on Instagram

Notable points regarding the deceptive ad

This ad is circulating on Instagram and belongs to a faceless account called Aussie Riches with a profile picture of a pickaxe. Using image reverse tools, we can find that the profile picture is a stock image most likely originated from freepik.com (which is an online AI image generator.)

In contrast to previous scam ads, this scam appears to target those susceptible to conspiracy theories. Typically, these ads merely feature doctored footage of famous people endorsing the scam product. This new scam campaign, however, has its own story background with the traditional three act structure.

  • The first act introduces the idea of a government conspiracy to hide something that can help people gain wealth.

  • The second act exposes this conspiracy and where the government is forced to come clean about their actions,

  • and the final act has the government endorse the product.

What is featured on the scam website?

After clicking on the Instagram-posted ad, we are taken to a fake 9 NEWS article, along with a doctored A Current Affair segment featuring Allison Langdon introducing Elon Musk as he endorses the scam platform. (For full video scroll to bottom of blog.)

Allison Langdon’s likeness and A Current Affair’s trademark appropriated by AI scammers.

Scrolling through the website we find fake testimonials, Facebook comments and potentially stolen photos of “happy” clients. Due to the fact that many of the photos may be real family photos stolen for the use of this scam, we will not be posting them in this blog but have reported it to the authorities for potential identity theft.

The scam article’s three main claims are:

  1. Guaranteed Income: The article claims that the platform guarantees Australian citizens a passive income of $25,000 AUD per month.

  2. High-Profile Backing: It alleges involvement from prominent figures like Elon Musk and major corporations such as Samsung, Commonwealth Bank, and BHP Group of Australia.

  3. Immediate Withdrawals: Users can reportedly withdraw earnings to any bank card on the same day.

A Precedent for Deception

This is not the first time these high-profile individuals and companies have had their likeness stolen by AI scammers. In 2023, a similar scheme targeted Australians using manipulated videos of Treasurer Jim Chalmers, former Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe, and Peter Overton.

The scam falsely presented itself as a legitimate Nine News report, claiming the unveiling of a new investment platform that promised easy earnings of $30,000 per month with just a $250 investment.

The footage was AI-altered and was linked to a suspicious website rather than the official Nine News page. These tactics mirror the current Aussie Riches scam, showing a pattern of exploiting trusted figures and media outlets to deceive the public into investing in fake opportunities.

Keeping up with the evolving AI scam threat

It wasn’t very long ago that experts in the cybersecurity industry routinely provided tips to help the public identify deepfakes or AI-generated scams. In my experience I paid attention to observing signs such as the subjects' mouth movements not aligning with their speech, unnatural (almost demonic looking) facial expressions and inconsistent body movements that essentially contradicted the artificial nature of the video. These cues were relatively easy for attentive viewers to spot, especially in early deepfake technology where synchronization and realism were often lacking.

Fast-forward to today, scammers have significantly improved their tactics, leveraging advancements in AI and machine learning. Modern deepfake videos now feature highly refined mouth movements that sync perfectly with the audio, thanks to sophisticated algorithms capable of analysing and replicating speech patterns with remarkable accuracy.

Along with this, facial expressions and gestures are increasingly lifelike, incorporating subtle nuances that were previously absent, such as blinks, micro-expressions, and natural head tilts, even the occasional breath or gasp.

In time, these AI-generated scams will become nearly indistinguishable from reality. With further improvements in resolution, real-time rendering, and contextual awareness, future deepfakes could deceive even trained professionals without specialized detection tools. This potential for hyper-realistic manipulation underscores the urgency of the issue.

Until that day arrives, it remains essential that we all stay vigilant and proactive. Educating ourselves and our loved ones—particularly vulnerable groups like the elderly, who may be less familiar with technology—is critical. Open, frank, and honest discussions about the threat of deepfakes can help us all strengthen our power of reason and move us to verify sources through official channels and avoid sharing personal or financial information hastily.

What can I look for to determine if a video is AI generated?

  • Early deepfakes often exhibited Blurring, Cropped Effects, or Pixelation (Small Box-Like Shapes), Particularly around high-motion areas like the mouth or eyes, due to limitations in resolution.

  • Look for unnatural skin tones or patches where the AI struggles to blend the fake face with the original body, such as mismatched lighting or colour gradients.

  • Inconsistency Across a Video, Such as Glitches, Sections of Lower Quality, and Changes in Lighting or Background. Older deepfakes often showed abrupt quality drops or lighting shifts due to rendering errors.

  • Badly Synced Sound: Historically, audio-visual de-synchronization was a major giveaway, with mouth movements lagging speech.

  • Irregular Blinking or Movement That Seems Unnatural, or even Demonic: Deepfakes often struggled with natural blinking patterns or stiff movements. For instance, a subject might blink too infrequently or at odd intervals, creating a vacant, lifeless stare that feels devoid of humanity.

  • Faces can also take on a disturbing quality, with expressions that seem hollow or disconnected from the spoken words, giving the impression of a soulless individual. Limbs might appear stiff or robotic, moving in ways that defy natural physics, such as phasing through objects or jerking unnaturally as if possessed.

  • The People Speak with Unusual Pauses, Stilted Speech Patterns, or Inconsistent Accents

  • Looping Footage in Videos: Some AI-generated videos, even when well-synced in terms of audio and mouth movements, may reveal their artificial nature by looping the same footage repeatedly. This happens when the dialogue is longer than the available video clip, so the AI reuses the same segment, creating a noticeable repetition in gestures, head movements, or background elements.

  • Check the address of the advert: (In the case of "Aussie Riches," the listed address (123 Finance Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia) doesn’t even exist.)

What can I do when confronting potential AI generated scams?

  • Check the Official social media and websites of those supposedly involved in any advert. Always confirm claims with primary sources.

  • Save the Fraudulent Website on https://web.archive.org/: Archiving the site preserves evidence for authorities.

  • Report, Report, Report: Report fraudulent ads to the platform (e.g., Instagram, X etc), and contact representatives of those whose likeness is misused via email, phone, or tagging them on social media.

  • Spread Awareness to Your Friends, Loved Ones, and Broader Community (e.g., Church Members, Sports Clubs, Gaming Communities): Education is key—elderly and less tech-savvy individuals are prime targets. Community outreach can amplify vigilance.

When in Doubt, Question the Context: Ask yourself if the content aligns with the person’s typical behavior or location. For instance, would Elon Musk promote a $400 investment on a random site? Contextual skepticism is a timeless defense.

As we witness the rise of artificial intelligence, we must remain vigilant. This doesn’t mean outright rejecting the technology or ignoring its impact. Whether we embrace it or not, our lives will be influenced by this innovation in countless ways—through our bills, banking, devices, social media, and even our refrigerators. We would do well to stay as informed as possible about this technological renaissance. While navigating these changes, let us follow the principles of King David’s wise words: “I do not associate with deceitful men, And I avoid those who hide what they are.” – Psalm 26:4

Make no mistake, there are those who use AI to hide what they are for many nefarious purposes. You don’t need to be the next victim of an AI scam. Instead, you can be prepared to face this threat head-on with confidence and fearlessness.  

Below, you’ll find resources that have helped me stay proactive against AI threats, the sources that guided me in crafting this blog, and a TLDR version of this blog for those, like me, who may have too short an attention span to read the full article.

Until next time,

continue exercising patience with the evolving technological landscape.

Resources

Below are resources that can help keep you and the community safe from AI scams




TL;DR

The following is a shortened version of this blog for those who found it too long.

Billionaire Gina Rinehart, Nine News presenters Peter Overton and Allison Langdon, along with tech pioneer Elon Musk are once again having their likeness stolen by online scammers using artificial intelligence to target Australians. The scam ad includes a supposed link to the Nine News website; however, it sends the viewer to aussieriches.com. The scam article’s three main claims are: Guaranteed Income: The article claims that the platform guarantees Australian citizens a passive income of $25,000 AUD per month.

This is not the first time these high-profile individuals and companies have had their likeness stolen by AI scammers. In 2023, a similar scheme targeted Australians using manipulated videos of Treasurer Jim Chalmers, former Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe, and Peter Overton. The footage was AI-altered and was linked to a suspicious website rather than the official Nine News page.

It wasn’t very long ago that experts in the cybersecurity industry routinely provided tips to help the public identify deepfakes or AI-generated scams. In my experience I paid attention to observing signs such as the subjects' mouth movements not aligning with their speech, unnatural (almost demonic looking) facial expressions and inconsistent body movements.

Fast-forward to today, scammers have significantly improved their tactics, leveraging advancements in AI and machine learning. Modern deepfake videos now feature highly refined mouth movements that sync perfectly with the audio.

What can I look for to determine if a video is AI generated? Look for Early deepfakes often exhibited Blurring, Cropped Effects, or Pixelation. Look for unnatural skin tones or patches. Inconsistency Across a Video, Such as Glitches. Badly Synced Sound. Irregular Blinking or Movement That Seems Unnatural. The People Speak with Unusual Pauses.

Check the Official social media and websites of those supposedly involved in any advert. Save the Fraudulent Website on https://web.archive.org/. Report fraudulent ads to the platform. Spread Awareness to Your Friends, Loved Ones, and Broader Community. If in Doubt, Question the Context: Ask yourself if the content aligns with the person’s typical behaviour.

As we witness the rise of artificial intelligence, we must remain vigilant. This doesn’t mean outright rejecting the technology or ignoring its impact. Whether we embrace it or not, our lives will be influenced by this innovation in countless ways—through our bills, banking, devices, social media, and even our refrigerators. We would do well to stay as informed as possible about this technological renaissance. While navigating these changes, let us follow the principles of King David’s wise words: “I do not associate with deceitful men, And I avoid those who hide what they are.” – Psalm 26:4




Evidence for future reference

Screenshot of fraudulent 9 News article

A Current Affair interview with Allison Langdon & Elon Musk manipulated by scammers using AI

Fake nab bank statement featured on the scam website

Borgen SYA reported the advert and website to Scamwatch.gov

The information presented in this blog is based on allegations and publicly available reports. All individuals and entities mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or a determination of guilt.

David Borgen https://borgensya.com
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