According to the investigation agency, the group of suspects earned more than 3.9 million USD (equivalent to nearly 100 billion VND) through fake advertising campaigns, taking advantage of image and video editing technology created by artificial intelligence (AI). This week, four suspects were arrested and assets were frozen in five states across Brazil.
Fraudulent advertisements often appear in the form of videos using AI tools to impersonate celebrities introducing skin care products or giving promotional gifts. In fact, buyers are only required to "pay shipping fees" for items that are never sent.
A representative of the state cybercrime agency Rio Grande do Sul said that most victims lose only a small amount of money, usually under 19 USD (about 475,000 VND), so they rarely report, causing criminals to "operate on a large scale without fear of being noticed".
Meta - Instagram's parent company affirmed that its policy is to prohibit fraudulent advertisements and remove violating content when detected, while investing in impersonation detection systems and a team of specialized content censors.
However, experts warn that this incident is a wake-up call for global social media users. Instagram is a platform used by more than 2 billion people per month and is becoming an increasingly popular tool for cybercriminals, especially in the context of deepfake videos being created more easily than ever.
A spokesperson for supermodel Gisele Bündchen urged consumers to be vigilant against unusual discount advertisements featuring celebrities, and should check through the official channel of the brand or individual before providing payment information.
