Former Fidelity International star fund manager Anthony Bolton recently made a surprise appearance on social media to share expert investment advice and stock picks.
Only it wasn’t him. It was a bogus version of the veteran stockpicker which a fraudster had made to look and sound like him using AI.
In a 25 second AI-generated video, someone who looked and sounded like Bolton invited investors to join a stock-picking WhatsApp group.
The deepfake video of Bolton encouraged would-be investors to join if they are ‘worried about missing out on investment opportunities and want to learn more about quality stocks.’
As a result, Fidelity had to issue a warning message to customers on its investment and pension platforms.
It says: ‘Fraudsters are increasingly using deepfake technology to carry out sophisticated scams.
‘Some of the world’s most high profile investors, including former Fidelity fund manager Anthony Bolton, have recently been targeted.’
Duped: Deepfake scams are increasingly becoming a problem for the investment industry. Peter Hargreaves, co-founder of stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown has been targeted
Deefake scams using the identities of investing gurus are becoming a headache for the investment industry more widely.
Several other prominent figures tied to big name investment firms have now had their identities stolen by scammers to use in deepfakes.
A Fidelity spokesman said: ‘Unfortunately, scams like these are on the rise across the industry.’
Peter Hargreaves, co-founder of stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown, has also been targeted by scammers trying to use his high profile for financial gain.
Former Fidelity star fund manager Anthony Bolton has been targeted by scammers in a deepfake scam
A video of what appeared to Hargreaves encouraging people to join a whatsapp group geared at giving investment tips and stock picksappeared on Instagram.
‘Inncreasingly, scammers will use social media to draw people in,’ says Sarah Coles head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown.
She adds: ‘Some videos will show luxury lifestyles, and encourage people to sign up to a WhatsApp group where they will apparently learn the secrets of investing success.
‘Another horrible twist on this is using deepfakes of well-known people in the industry, including Peter Hargreaves, to get people to sign up to scam WhatsApp groups.’
Most recently, Stephanie Flanders, former chief market strategist at JPMorgan, has had her image used by scammers in a post on Instagram.
Flanders is now Bloomberg’s head of economics and politics.
An account using Flanders’ image appeared on Instagram, with Flanders supposedly introducing herself as Stephanie Flanders in a post.
The caption said: ‘Recently many people have asked me, ‘How do I find opportunities to make real money in the stock market?’
‘To answer this question, I decided to create a WhatsApp investing group where I will reveal hidden opportunities in the stock market and share my investing strategies to help more people achieve financial freedom fast.’
A spokesman at Bloomberg said: ‘We are aware of this post, which is obviously fake. We have reported it to the relevant social media platforms and have been taking the appropriate steps to have it removed.’
JPMorgan declined to comment.
How are people scammed with deepfakes?
Scammers can use AI and voice cloning technology to replicate a public figure’s image and voice from a short video clip.
The audio clips used in deepfakes can easily be captured from a genuine video that has appeared online, such as an interview.
The investment deepfake scams have the common aim of trying to get people to join WhatsApp groups, under the guise of sharing investment advice and stock picks from investment industry stalwarts.
Once people have joined the Whatsapp groups, criminals have their contact details. They will then use those contact details to get in touch and get you invest in stocks that have very little value.
This blows up the price as more people get pushed into buying it – and then, at the point at which it’s gone up, they will then sell up and run.
For this reason, Sarah Coles says: ‘These are likely to be ‘pump and dump’ schemes, in which the criminals invest in very small stocks, then they put people under pressure to invest too – in order to push the price up.
‘Once the value has risen, the criminals sell up and run, leaving investors with big losses, and in some cases with worthless stocks.’
In 2024, £144million was lost to investment fraud where a criminal convinces their victim to move their money to a fictitious fund or to pay for a fake investment.
This type of fraud jumped 34 per cent from 2023, despite a 24 per cent reduction in cases.
What are firms doing?
Investment platforms are now warning customers that prominent figures who have in the past been attached to the business, or still are, that they do not use social media to share investing tips or stock picks.
A Fidelity spokesman said: ‘In terms of the Anthony Bolton video, we are aware of this deepfake video. We actively monitor social media platforms and take action to have them removed when they appear.
‘To be clear, these accounts and groups have no legitimate connection to Anthony Bolton or Fidelity International. Fidelity International does not use social media to offer unsolicited investment opportunities.’
Sarah Coles said: ‘It’s worth knowing that neither of the HL founders are on social media – not Peter Hargreaves or Stephen Lansdown. They don’t have WhatsApp groups – and neither does HL. If you are enticed to sign up to these things, they are scams.’
HL is also identifying scams using its name and contacting social media companies to take them down.
Over 600 adverts and 22 pages from scam accounts were taken down in the last week, following HL reporting them for trademark infringement.
Consumers should check the FCA register to make sure they are dealing with an authorised firm or individual.
An FCA spokesman said: ‘AI provides opportunities but also comes with risks as fraudsters impersonate firms to try and defraud customers.
‘Firms should consider how they mitigate the growing scam threats posed by AI, while investors should be on high alert for convincing clone scams.
‘Tech firms also need to step up and play their part by quickly detecting and removing scam content.’
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