Associated Incidents
Citizens who fall victim to investment fraud through manipulated videos of politicians encouraging investments are receiving threats when they discover the deception and demand explanations, according to the Cyprus Consumers Association.
Despite previous warnings from the association, 14 people reported their experiences with these scams in just one day, said Association President Marios Drousiotis in an interview with CyBC.
The deception typically begins with a request for a €250 investment, but in one case, losses exceeded €40,000. Some victims reported investing their last available funds.
"The fraud is designed to deceive even the most suspicious individuals," Drousiotis warned. The association intentionally invested the initial €250 demanded by the scammers to investigate their methods and better inform the public.
The fraudulent videos feature several prominent figures without their knowledge, including the President of the Republic, Averof Neofytou, and Haris Georgiades. Recently, a government minister was also incorporated into these schemes. The AI-generated videos show these officials appearing to recommend investments as a solution to economic difficulties.
Drousiotis noted the sophisticated nature of the deepfakes, where the lip movements of politicians matched the fraudulent statements attributed to them.
The association is gathering evidence and plans to alert citizens across Europe to prevent the scam from spreading to other countries. They have been monitoring the situation since early January and identified two different platforms involved, one requesting initial investments of €250 and another asking for €150.
The scam operates through a sequence of social media videos, followed by phone calls. When users express interest, they receive a call from someone claiming to be a "financial advisor" who creates a personal account showing rapidly increasing profits. Within days, victims see their supposed €250 investment grow to €500-€600, encouraging them to invest more.
When victims eventually try to withdraw funds, they face excuses, delays, and eventually, no response at all. In one case, a €40,000 investment supposedly grew to €195,000 on paper, but the money was never recoverable.
Some citizens have reported these scams to the police, but the perpetrators operate in ways that make them difficult to trace, even for the Economic Crime Unit.