Latest / Making Cents / I Got Deepfaked. Here's How To Spot A Scammer.

Transcript

I Got Deepfaked. Here's How To Spot A Scammer. · Making Cents

• 0:01
  Hey, team, it's Frances.
• 0:03
  Look, as someone who's chronically online, it's not that unusual for me to get a message letting me know that there's some horrible account pretending to be me and trying to trick people with it.
• 0:14
  It's really common and it's actually really hard to get these scam accounts taken down.
• 0:21
  But I've got to say, the scammers have really taken it to the next level this time.
• 0:25
  There are a series of videos circulating as paid ads on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
• 0:34
  There's me, or at least a fake version of me, talking to the camera from my home office, only the movement is slightly stilted and the voice is much posher.
• 0:47
  There's a very much more British accent than I even have usually.
• 0:52
  My mum will be thrilled to hear me with such rounded vowels.
• 0:56
  But anyway, as funny and weird as it is, seeing this video, it is a bit of a worry that maybe it would trick people.
• 1:03
  So I wrote about it for my regular column for tvnz and the breakfast team wanted to talk to me a bit more about it for my spot on the show.
• 1:12
  So we did.
• 1:13
  We had a good chat about that and also how you can spot some of the bad information circulating online.
• 1:20
  When it comes to the money world, keep yourself safe from the scammers that are, frankly, everywhere.
• 1:26
  They said I could put that conversation here for you as well, so enjoy.
• 1:31
  From deep fakes to misinformation and viral money myths online, it can be really hard to know who to trust and whether your money is really being put in the right places.
• 1:38
  To help us spot the warning signs and avoid some common financial traps, we're joined now by independent financial journalist Francis Cook.
• 1:45
  Good morning.
• 1:46
  Real version.
• 1:47
  Real version.
• 1:48
  You're the second person in a week to be on the show that has been the subject of some AI fakery.
• 1:52
  What's going on here?
• 1:53
  Yeah, so, opened up my inbox the other day and I do have quite an overwhelmed inbox, but this time there's even more.
• 2:00
  And it was people letting me know they'd seen these paid ads going around, particularly Facebook and Instagram, of me, but fake me recommending joining some sketchy little WhatsApp groups.
• 2:12
  I can give you investment tips and it's all a big scam and it's awful.
• 2:16
  This is not good.
• 2:17
  This is after Brad Folson and now.
• 2:19
  What are you calling it?
• 2:20
  Tova Francis.
• 2:21
  Yeah, it's no good.
• 2:23
  All right, so what is this actually saying, do you think about people's appetite for a bit of guidance when it comes to their finances.
• 2:29
  Because if this is springing up all over the place, there must be a reason for it.
• 2:32
  Honestly, anytime there's tough economic times, the scammers come out to play, there's blood in the water, the sharks come out.
• 2:39
  So this is.
• 2:40
  It was really interesting, actually.
• 2:41
  Full credit to them.
• 2:42
  The Financial Markets Authority got in touch with me and said, can you send us the details of this?
• 2:47
  Because we're working on this.
• 2:48
  We've seen a lot of sort of celebrity scams, excuse me, stumbling over that because I don't really put myself in that category.
• 2:55
  But they've seen a lot of high profile people being used as these video avatars for these scams.
• 3:01
  Because people trust you and particularly because.
• 3:03
  You've worked hard to build your base.
• 3:04
  Right.
• 3:04
  And actually garner that trust.
• 3:06
  Yeah.
• 3:06
  And the thought that horrifies me is this, probably, if they're doing it, it is probably catching some people who then think I've scammed them.
• 3:14
  That genuinely makes me lose sleep at night.
• 3:17
  All right, what about those red flags though?
• 3:19
  Whether it's this or whether it's people online that are selling you the quick way to earn your riches, what are some of those red flags that you've written about for us?
• 3:28
  Yes.
• 3:28
  So if it's something like a person, like me.
• 3:31
  The problem is I do have things like newsletters.
• 3:33
  I'm saying, sign up here.
• 3:34
  So I might be putting out a video and saying, go over here.
• 3:38
  The thing to know is I will always tell you how money works.
• 3:42
  It is very illegal in New Zealand for someone to go online and say, use this investment.
• 3:49
  Everyone should do this.
• 3:50
  And that's for a really good reason.
• 3:51
  If you're saying one size fits all, that's just bad financial advice.
• 3:56
  Different people have different goals, different tolerances, different things they're trying to achieve with their money and that's why that's illegal.
• 4:04
  So a really good sort of rule of thumb is if they're telling you specifically what to invest in and they're saying specifically, this tactic works for everyone, red flag.
• 4:13
  That's not me, that's a scammer.
• 4:15
  Or at the very best, if it's someone else who's saying this legitimately, they just don't know what they're talking about.
• 4:20
  You need to act quick.
• 4:21
  This offer is going to be expiring soon.
• 4:23
  Urgency, hurry up.
• 4:24
  This deal is not going to last.
• 4:26
  Urgency.
• 4:27
  Massive red flag.
• 4:28
  If they're trying to pressure you to move quickly, they are trying to override all of your normal sort of rules and bounces that you've got in your head, they're trying to make you feel a bit flustered.
• 4:37
  So urgency, terrible.
• 4:38
  Another one that you do see a lot, and this can actually be totally well intentioned.
• 4:44
  But the World Wide Web, there's a lot of money advice that's not from here.
• 4:47
  So there is really good people online giving good tips, but they're based in America and so they might say you need a credit card and to leave a little bit of balance on it to build up a credit
• 4:57
  history that can be useful in America.
• 5:00
  Terrible idea.
• 5:01
  Here in New Zealand, credit scoring system works really differently.
• 5:05
  Even Australia, which has a lot of similarities to the New Zealand financial system, we've got some key differences.
• 5:12
  Like changing the frequency of your mortgage payments in Australia can actually help you pay it off earlier.
• 5:17
  Won't do much here unless you also bump up how much you're paying.
• 5:21
  So really look for where that person's coming from too.
• 5:25
  So how do we spot the difference between someone who would be considered an expert in this field and just someone who is an absolute grifter?
• 5:32
  Well, give them a little Google for starters and see if they've got any sort of online footprint that would give them any credentials.
• 5:40
  But also, you know, keep an eye out for if they're trying to sort of spoof these things.
• 5:44
  You know, this account that was putting out these ads of me, it said it was part of Anz, which I'm pretty sure Anz isn't happy that they're getting drawn into this either.
• 5:53
  But as soon as I clicked onto that account, it comes up with children's clothing store.
• 5:57
  So just a couple of little clicks of, you know, is everything lining up here?
• 6:01
  From what I'd expect, a quick Google, who is this person?
• 6:04
  And making sure it's actually them and that they actually have credentials.
• 6:09
  Because you do see a lot of people who sort of say, I'm super rich and you should follow me.
• 6:14
  That's also a red flag.
• 6:15
  That's not a credential.
• 6:16
  Francis Cook, thank you so much for joining us.
• 6:20
  This podcast can only give you general information about how things work in most situations.
• 6:26
  It's not individual financial advice.
• 6:28
  If you're after that, a financial advisor is always the best bet.