Scammers have attempted to impersonate Australian football and media identity Eddie McGuire using a deepfake video promoting a fake investment scheme on YouTube.
The ad, seen by the ABC, features manipulated footage from a past television appearance, overlaid with a voice impersonation that drifts in and out of an American accent. A QR code is displayed on screen, prompting viewers to scan it—likely a method for accessing personal information or installing malware.
McGuire warned the scam could easily fool viewers on mobile devices due to the video’s varying quality. “The voice is reasonable,” he admitted on ABC Radio Melbourne. “They’ve done a pretty good job on it and you could see how some people could tumble in.”
While the video sometimes mimics McGuire convincingly, closer inspection reveals telltale flaws—such as unsynced lip movements and odd vocal intonations.
“I’ve got a reasonably distinctive voice, you know, Glasgow parents and Irish parents out of Broadmeadows, very hard to take me off at times,” McGuire added, noting that this wasn’t the first time he’s been used in a scam and highlighting the near-impossibility of having such content removed from platforms like Facebook.
“Just about any on-air person there for a little while was being used [for deepfake scams], and it doesn’t matter, they just ignore you,” McGuire said.
A spokesperson for Google, YouTube’s parent company told B&T that it has removed the ad and has permanently suspended the associated advertiser account.
“We removed the advertisement and took action against the advertiser account for violating our policies. We expressly prohibit ads that aim to scam people by falsely stating an endorsement from a public figure.”
This is not the first time that prominent Australian figures have appeared in a deepfake video. Just last week an AI-generated deepfake video of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton appeared online, falsely depicting him speaking Mandarin. The video, which uses deepfake technology to mimic Dutton’s voice and mannerisms, falsely claimed that he intends to deport Chinese Australians.
Another post targeting the Albanese government falsely suggested that Australian police are arresting temporary migrants in shopping centres.
With AI Deepfake technology more readily available than ever before, Scamwatch has advised Australians to avoid investment offers on social media and verify legitimacy via the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
