Deepfake scam warning in wake of Lewis advert

Warnings about “deepfake” scams have been repeated after a likeness of Martin Lewis, owner of the moneysavingexpert.com website, appeared in an online scam video promoting a purported investment scheme.

Mr Lewis said he was left feeling "sick" by the production, which featured a realistic computer-generated likeness of him as it tempted people to part with their money.

Shared via Facebook, the advertisement supposedly covers an Elon Musk-backed project, which it calls a "great investment".

Mr Lewis told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme that his name and face had been “the subject of scam adverts for many years. I get countless reports every day”. However this was the first deepfake he had seen featuring himself. It’s “already difficult enough to persuade people” about scams, he added. Although he doesn’t advertise or do investment, friends still tell him sometimes that they have backed a scheme they thought he was advertising.

He said the deepfake wasn’t perfect, “but it's the first one and this technology is improving at a rapid speed. And frankly, it's disgraceful and people are going to lose money”.

He called for Government regulation of the tech industry, which was a "wild west" situation at present.

"Vulnerable people are being scammed and nothing is being done about it."