Financialregulators in Australia and New Zealand issued coordinated warnings this weekabout a sharp rise in investment scams that use artificial intelligence tofabricate endorsements from politicians and business executives, as bothcountries struggle to contain losses that now run into billions of dollars.Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!)Australia'sSecurities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said it removed 11,964 phishingand investment scam websites between January and December 2025, a 90% increasefrom the 6,270 sites taken down over the prior 12-month period. That works outto roughly 32 sites per day, or 230 per week. Across theTasman Sea, New Zealand's Financial Markets Authority (FMA) issued a parallelwarning about what it described as an increasing number of scams that use fakenews articles and deepfake videos featuring local politicians and bankingexecutives. Deepfakes Make ScamsHarder to Spot Across the Asia-PacificFraudstersare using AI to generate polished videos, fabricated celebrity endorsements andtargeted social media ads that direct victims to fake investment platforms.Since launching its takedown program in2023, ASIC hasknocked out more than 25,000 malicious sites and also removed over 1,100 scamadvertisements on social media in 2025.The FMAsaid it identified 110 scam ads published in a single 24-hour period on Metaplatforms and has flagged more than 190 fake trading platform websites forremoval since the start of March 2026.ASICCommissioner Alan Kirkland said scammers are hiding content that violatessocial media platform rules by using a technique called "cloaking,"which displays different content depending on the user's device or location. "Scammersare using artificial intelligence to make fake investment ads look morepolished, more convincing and harder to spot," Kirkland said. "We'reseeing AI being used to create professional videos, fake endorsements andtargeted ads designed to lure people into handing over their details."In NewZealand, the FMA said the current wave of scams features clickbait headlinesthat claim to reveal information authorities are trying to suppress. SamanthaMcGuire, the FMA's Manager of Regulatory Services, said individualsimpersonated through deepfakes include Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters,Kiwibank CEO Steve Jurkovich, and Westpac CEO Catherine McGrath. "Werecommend exercising extreme caution when engaging with online contentpromoting investment opportunities, particularly when it uses images ofhigh-profile New Zealanders," McGuire said. She added that scammerscontinuously switch identities, so stories may still be fraudulent even if theyfeature a different public figure.The FMAsaid the fake articles use logos from real New Zealand news outlets includingRNZ, TVNZ, and the NZ Herald but link to fraudulent content containing falseendorsements of investment platforms.$2.18 Billion Lost:Australia's Investment Scam Bill Keeps GrowingThewarnings come against the backdrop of rising financial losses. Australians lost$2.18 billion to scams in 2025, according to the National Anti-Scam Centre'slatest Targeting Scams Report, with investment scams alone accounting for$837.7 million. Those figures represent a 7.8% increase from 2024, even astotal losses remain roughly 30% below the 2022 peak of $3.1 billion.ASIC saidthe scams attempt to exploit public interest in AI by making unrealisticpromises about quick and easy returns. "Scammers offer guaranteed, quickand easy investment returns, often claiming to leverage the latest AItechnology to make money with minimal effort," Kirkland said. "Withthese AI videos, the only thing that is real is the amount of money you risklosing."The patternclosely mirrors what regulators havebeen tracking globally. A January 2026 report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis foundthat trading platform impersonation scams grew more than 1,400% year-over-year,with AI-enabled operations extracting 4.5 times more money per victim thantraditional fraud methods. Germany'sBaFin has also flagged at least 20 nearly identicalwebsitesadvertising AI-based trading services with no verifiable operators, and theU.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission warned in late 2025 that deepfake videos and voicecloning were being used in live video calls to impersonate brokers.How the Scam Works - FromFake Ads to Fake ProfitsBothregulators described a nearly identical playbook. Victims encounter ads or fakenews articles on social media featuring AI-generated images or videos of publicfigures. Clicking on these ads leads to websites where victims are asked toregister their contact details.Scammersthen call the victims posing as investment brokers, according to both the FMAand ASIC. In New Zealand, the FMA said victims are typically encouraged to makean initial deposit of around $250. Once the money is in, the fake platformdisplays fabricated profits to pressure victims into transferring more funds.When victims try to withdraw, they are told to pay additional fees, but nomoney is ever returned.The NewZealand regulator first warned about these tactics inAugust 2024, butMcGuire said the agency has recently seen a "significant increase" inads, fake news articles, and fake platform websites linked to the scam. The FMAhas also been tracking deepfake-powered WhatsAppinvestment fraudand a separate phone survey scam that uses fake economic polls toharvest personal data before pitching bogus trading platforms.Regulators Urge Cautionbut Takedowns Alone Have LimitsASIC saidconsumers should not provide contact details or personal information to anyonepromoting an investment opportunity unless they can verify the person holds anAustralian Financial Services licence. The FMA's McGuire was equally direct:"Do not click on these ads or links, and do not enter your personalinformation into these websites."The scaleof the takedown operations has grown rapidly. ASIC reported removing 6,900 scam sitesin the year ended June 2025 and flagged more than 330 fake celebrityendorsement sitesin the first half of that year alone. But the 90% year-over-year increase intakedowns also suggests the volume of fraudulent sites is growing faster thanregulators can remove them.For victimswho have already provided personal information, both regulators advisecontacting their bank immediately and asking whether transactions can bereversed. The FMA also recommended that anyone who downloaded remote accesssoftware at a scammer's instruction should contact an IT professional to checktheir device for malware.This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.