(CLO) A deepfake video impersonating President Prabowo Subianto has scammed Indonesian people in 20 provinces, causing many people to lose money.
In a video posted on Instagram last November, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto appeared in a traditional black hat and robe, asking his people what he could do for them after his election. "Who hasn't received support from me? What do you need now?"
But while the Indonesian leader’s mouth and eyes move naturally, the words are actually part of a deepfake scam that police uncovered last month, which fooled people across 20 Indonesian provinces.
Mr. Prabowo Subianto. Photo: CC BY-SA 3.0
Those who believed the message in the video were asked to contact a WhatsApp number and transfer between 250,000 and one million rupiah ($15-60) as an “administrative fee” to receive assistance, but the money was never returned.
Ms. Aryani, 56, a victim of this trick, shared: "People should be more careful. Don't be easily lured by promises of rewards."
She transferred 200,000 rupiah to the scammer after watching a deepfake video impersonating a famous Indonesian businessman. "I needed money, but instead they asked me to send money. They even video called me, as if I was talking to them directly."
During Indonesia’s presidential campaign, deepfakes became a popular tool to spread misinformation, either harmful or beneficial to candidates. But now the technology has fallen into the hands of criminals looking to make money.
Indonesian police have arrested a suspect who made 65 million rupiah in illegal profits from the scam, according to Himawan Bayu Aji, director of Indonesia's National Cybercrime Unit, in February. He said police had also arrested another person in connection with another scam using deepfake technology, but did not disclose the amount of money.
However, these deepfake videos have been circulating much more widely than the two accounts released by police. Deepfake videos impersonating President Prabowo have continued to appear on social media following the arrests, including dozens on TikTok with the hashtag “Prabowo Shares Blessings.”
At least 22 TikTok accounts have promoted the same scam since Prabowo took office last October. One account with more than 77,000 followers has attracted 7.5 million views on a fake video of Prabowo handing out financial aid. Another account has shared 100 videos since January, most of them deepfakes of the president promising cash handouts.
TikTok said it had removed one of the deepfake scam videos and the account associated with it, and pledged to continue removing content that violates the platform's community guidelines, which prohibit misleading posts.
Aribowo Sasmito, co-founder of Indonesian fact-checking organization Mafindo, said his team is discovering new deepfake scams every week due to their rapid spread online. “We started seeing deepfake videos last year when AI tools became more accessible and cheaper,” he warned.
Aribowo said his verification team is working harder than ever to expose these scams, especially as the technology criminals use becomes more advanced.
“We’ve seen the quality of these videos improve over time. It’s getting harder to differentiate between real and fake videos,” he added. “The biggest challenge is the sheer volume of these scams.”
Cao Phong (according to CNA, NIE, Barron)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nguoi-indonesia-bi-lua-dao-bang-deepfake-gia-mao-tong-thong-prabowo-post336773.html
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