Deepfake Celebrity or Finance Expert Video Promoting an Investment through an app

How it looks through an app, the red flags and what to do.

The app is the scammer's way in: it can read what is on the screen, collect contacts and push you to pay. Deepfake Celebrity or Finance Expert Video Promoting an Investment is one of the ways this shows up: A video shows a famous person praising a trading app or scheme. The clip is edited or generated, and the scheme is a scam. Learn how to check.

What deepfake celebrity or finance expert video promoting an investment looks like through an app

• A loan app that asks for contacts and photos.
• A "KYC", "challan" or "bank rewards" app from a link.
• An .apk file sent on WhatsApp or by SMS.

The scammer takes real footage of a famous person and uses software to change the words and lip movement. Sometimes only the voice is cloned and placed over unrelated footage. The clip is then promoted through paid ads and shared in groups. The headline claims a secret method, a government scheme or a special offer that is open for a limited time. Comments below the video are filled with enthusiastic replies by fake accounts.

Red flags to check on the app

• A famous person promotes an app with guaranteed daily income.
• The video is short, oddly smooth or the voice and lips do not quite match.
• A limited-seats countdown pushes you to deposit quickly.
• An advisor calls, offering personal guidance and a fast profit.
• It has few or odd reviews, or a name with spelling changes.
• It asks you to turn off Play Protect.

What to do

1. Search for the person's official channels to see whether he has ever mentioned the app.
2. Do not enter your number or deposit money from an ad.
3. Check the platform's name along with the word 'complaints' and look for independent registration details.
4. Open Settings and check Accessibility, Device admin apps and Install unknown apps for anything you do not recognise.
5. Change the passwords of your bank and email from a clean device if the app had access.
6. Run a phone scan (Safeavio Sentinel lists risky apps and settings).

Report the fake app to the store it came from and, if money moved, call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in.

If money or a code is already gone

1. Call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in with all payment references.
2. Tell your bank through its official app and list the receiving accounts.
3. Do not pay a withdrawal fee or tax to release funds.
4. Save the ad, the platform pages and chats before they disappear.

National Cyber Crime Helpline: 1930; report at cybercrime.gov.in.

Use Link check in Safeavio Sentinel on the ad's link before you open it, and Scam check on any message the advisor sends to see the reasons it looks risky, such as guaranteed profits and urgency. Money Shield's 'Verify before you pay' checklist helps before a deposit. Safeavio cannot tell if a video is edited or generated, and cannot recover money deposited on a platform.

Full guide: Deepfake Celebrity or Finance Expert Video Promoting an Investment: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: social media, WhatsApp, SMS.

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