Description: Around December 2025, Cypriot authorities reported that scammers used a purportedly AI-generated deepfake video impersonating President Nicos Christodoulides and other officials to promote a fraudulent investment platform. The video deceived about 15 citizens, who each lost between €10,000 and €15,000. Officials warned that malicious AI impersonation schemes are increasing and that citizens currently lack effective protection.
Entities
View all entitiesAlleged: Unknown deepfake technology developers and Unknown voice cloning technology developers developed an AI system deployed by Unknown scammers , Unknown scammers in Cyprus and Unknown scammers impersonating Nikos Christodoulides, which harmed Nikos Christodoulides , General public , General public of Cyprus and Epistemic integrity.
Alleged implicated AI systems: Unknown deepfake technology and Unknown voice cloning technology
Incident Stats
Incident ID
1293
Report Count
1
Incident Date
2025-12-06
Editors
Daniel Atherton
Incident Reports
Reports Timeline
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AI-generated videos impersonating President Nicos Christodoulides, business tycoons and celebrities have scammed Cypriots out of thousands of euros, with authorities warning citizens have no protection against the growing threat.
Around 15 …
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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