Description: The New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA), Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko, reportedly warned of a global AI-enabled "pump-and-dump" scam that used purported deepfake videos of prominent New Zealand business leaders in Facebook and Instagram ads to lure investors into fake WhatsApp investment groups. Victims were allegedly urged to buy low-value foreign shares to inflate prices, then defrauded through a follow-on "recovery" scam.
Editor Notes: Reconstructing the reported timeline of events: (1) 08/19/2025, FMA reportedly issued its first warning about deepfake investment impersonations. (2) In the following weeks, new complaints reportedly showed the scam evolving into a global pump-and-dump network using WhatsApp investment groups. (3) 10/06/2026, during World Investor Week, FMA reportedly issued an updated warning confirming use of AI-generated deepfakes in the scheme.
Entities
View all entitiesAlleged: Unknown deepfake technology developers and Unknown voice cloning technology developers developed an AI system deployed by Unknown scammers impersonating New Zealand business leaders and Unknown scammers, which harmed Investors , Impersonated New Zealand business leaders , General public of New Zealand and General public.
Alleged implicated AI systems: WhatsApp , Unknown voice cloning technology , Unknown deepfake technology , Trading platforms , Social media , Instagram and Facebook
Incident Stats
Risk Subdomain
A further 23 subdomains create an accessible and understandable classification of hazards and harms associated with AI
4.3. Fraud, scams, and targeted manipulation
Risk Domain
The Domain Taxonomy of AI Risks classifies risks into seven AI risk domains: (1) Discrimination & toxicity, (2) Privacy & security, (3) Misinformation, (4) Malicious actors & misuse, (5) Human-computer interaction, (6) Socioeconomic & environmental harms, and (7) AI system safety, failures & limitations.
- Malicious Actors & Misuse
Entity
Which, if any, entity is presented as the main cause of the risk
AI
Timing
The stage in the AI lifecycle at which the risk is presented as occurring
Post-deployment
Intent
Whether the risk is presented as occurring as an expected or unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
Intentional
Incident Reports
Reports Timeline
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Kiwi investors are being caught by a new "pump and dump" scam, says the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) -- Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko.
FMA Director of Markets, Investors and Reporting, John Horner says: "As we start World Investor Week, aim…
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Media Release
MR No. 2025 -- 41
Kiwi investors are being caught by a new "pump and dump" scam, says the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) -- Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko.
FMA Director of Markets, Investors and Reporting, John Horner says: "As w…
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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