A UK man lost his life savings and incurred significant debt after falling victim to a sophisticated investment scam. The scam used a deepfake video featuring well-known personalities, Martin Lewis and Elon Musk, to lure him in.
How the Scam Worked
Des Healey, a kitchen builder, saw a Facebook ad promoting a Bitcoin investment opportunity. The ad featured a convincing deepfake video of Martin Lewis and Elon Musk endorsing the scheme. Healey, believing the ad to be legitimate, transferred his entire life savings—£5,000—into a Revolut account.
After this initial investment, he was contacted by someone named “Carl,” who promised huge returns. However, to get his initial £5,000 back, Healey was told he needed to invest an additional £10,000. This pattern continued, with Healey taking out loans totaling £70,000 to feed more money into the scam. He was never allowed to withdraw any funds.
The Red Flag
Healey’s son, listening in on a call with “Carl,” noticed rap music playing in the background. This raised serious doubts about the legitimacy of the operation, prompting Healey to contact the police.
The Aftermath
The police confirmed the video was a deepfake, and Healey had been the victim of a sophisticated scam. In total, he lost £75,000.
Revolut’s Response
Revolut, the digital banking app used in the scam, acknowledged the incident, stating that they are actively working to protect customers from such sophisticated criminal activity. They highlighted their efforts in fraud prevention, noting that they analyze hundreds of millions of transactions monthly and have saved customers millions from similar scams. However, they did not specify the amount of losses incurred by users in such scams.
