Incident 1136: Purported Widespread Use of AI-Generated Deepfake Videos Impersonate Malaysian Leaders in Investment Scams

Description: Purported AI-generated deepfake videos depicting Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and other officials, political leaders, and business leaders have reportedly been used to promote fraudulent investment schemes. A total of 13,956 cases were reported last year, with RM2.11 billion allegedly lost to these scams. Victims were allegedly misled by hyper-realistic fake endorsements circulated via Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram. Scammers allegedly adapt quickly, generating new deepfakes when content is removed.

Editor Notes: This incident ID refers to a report described 07/04/2025 by the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA)'s Public Services and Complaints Department head, Datuk Seri Michael Chong, regarding the alleged widespread use of AI-generated deepfake videos to impersonate Malaysian public figures in fraudulent investment schemes. See also Incident 1116: Alleged Deepfake Video Depicts Former Malaysian Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah in Financial Misconduct Context.

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Alleged: Unknown voice cloning technology developers and Unknown deepfake technology developers developed an AI system deployed by Unknown scammers targeting Malaysian public figures and Unknown scammers, which harmed Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat , Tan Sri Tony Fernandes , Tan Sri Robert Kuok , Malaysian public figures , Malaysian political leaders , Malaysian business leaders , General public of Malaysia , Epistemic integrity and Anwar Ibrahim.

Alleged implicated AI systems: WhatsApp , Unknown voice cloning technology , Unknown deepfake technology , Telegram , Social media and Facebook

Incident Stats

Incident ID

1136

Report Count

Incident Date

2025-07-04

Editors

Daniel Atherton

Applied Taxonomies

MIT

MIT Taxonomy Classifications

Machine-Classified

Taxonomy Details

Risk Subdomain

4.3. Fraud, scams, and targeted manipulation

Risk Domain

Malicious Actors & Misuse

Entity

Human

Timing

Post-deployment

Intent

Intentional

Incident Reports

Reports Timeline

AI deepfakes of PM, tycoons used in scams

nst.com.my

Ex-rep turns the tables on deepfake scam ring

thestar.com.my

‘It sounded just like my brother’: How deepfake voices are fuelling money scams

malaymail.com

nst.com.my · 2025

KUALA LUMPUR: Scammers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to create hyper-realistic videos featuring politicians, business moguls, and celebrities.

These videos are used to lure unsuspecting people into fraudulent investment schemes.

MC…

thestar.com.my · 2025

PETALING JAYA: With the faces of popular figures appearing in deepfake videos promoting investment scams, a former state assemblyman has deliberately stepped into the trap to expose the syndicate’s tactics.

Former Pasir Pinji assemblyman Da…

malaymail.com · 2025

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 --- Imagine receiving a voice note on WhatsApp from someone who sounds exactly like your younger brother --- his voice, tone, and even the way he says your name are all spot on.

He says he's stuck at work, left his walle…

Variants

A "variant" is an AI incident similar to a known case—it has the same causes, harms, and AI system. Instead of listing it separately, we group it under the first reported incident. Unlike other incidents, variants do not need to have been reported outside the AIID. Learn more from the research paper.

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