A group of suspected scammers in Brazil reportedly earned millions of dollars through online fraud by running Instagram ads featuring AI-generated deepfakes of supermodel Gisele Bundchen and other celebrities. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, police investigators confirmed the fraud, which was executed using manipulated celebrity images. Authorities arrested four suspects tied to the scheme this week and froze assets across five Brazilian states. The federal anti-money laundering agency, COAF , identified over 20 million reais ($3.9 million) in suspicious funds linked to the operation. The operation represents one of the first significant attempts in Brazil to combat the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) to manipulate celebrity images and videos for online scams.
The arrests follow Brazil's Supreme Court ruling in June that social media platforms can be held liable for criminal ads if they fail to remove the content promptly.
What Instagram-parent Meta said about these ads
In a statement to Reuters, Instagram owner Meta stated that its policies prohibit "ads that deceptively use public figures to try to scam people" and that it removes such ads "when detected." The company also noted that it has “specialised systems to detect celeb-bait, invests heavily in trained review teams, shares tips on avoiding scams and offers tools to report potential violations.”
According to Reuters, the spokesperson for Bundchen's team advised consumers to be cautious about huge discounts in ads featuring celebrities, to verify the legitimacy of offers through official brand or celebrity channels, and to report suspected scams to the authorities.
The investigation announced this week by police in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul began in August 2024, following a complaint from a victim who was deceived by an Instagram ad that showed an altered video of Bundchen promoting a skincare product.
In another case, an ad used the supermodel’s image to advertise a suitcase giveaway, requiring buyers to pay shipping fees for items that never arrived.
In a statement to Reuters, Eibert Moreira Neto, head of Rio Grande do Sul's cybercrime unit, said: “We identified that the criminal group carried out a series of other scams, involving deepfakes of other celebrities and false betting platforms.”
Investigators are pursuing money laundering and online fraud charges, noting that most victims lost small amounts, which is typically under 100 reais ($19), and often did not report the incidents.
Isadora Galian, another official from the cybercrime unit, said: “That created a perverse situation in which the criminals enjoyed a kind of 'statistical immunity.' They knew most people would not report them, so they operated at scale without fear.”
The arrests follow Brazil's Supreme Court ruling in June that social media platforms can be held liable for criminal ads if they fail to remove the content promptly.
What Instagram-parent Meta said about these ads
In a statement to Reuters, Instagram owner Meta stated that its policies prohibit "ads that deceptively use public figures to try to scam people" and that it removes such ads "when detected." The company also noted that it has “specialised systems to detect celeb-bait, invests heavily in trained review teams, shares tips on avoiding scams and offers tools to report potential violations.”
According to Reuters, the spokesperson for Bundchen's team advised consumers to be cautious about huge discounts in ads featuring celebrities, to verify the legitimacy of offers through official brand or celebrity channels, and to report suspected scams to the authorities.
The investigation announced this week by police in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul began in August 2024, following a complaint from a victim who was deceived by an Instagram ad that showed an altered video of Bundchen promoting a skincare product.
In another case, an ad used the supermodel’s image to advertise a suitcase giveaway, requiring buyers to pay shipping fees for items that never arrived.
In a statement to Reuters, Eibert Moreira Neto, head of Rio Grande do Sul's cybercrime unit, said: “We identified that the criminal group carried out a series of other scams, involving deepfakes of other celebrities and false betting platforms.”
Investigators are pursuing money laundering and online fraud charges, noting that most victims lost small amounts, which is typically under 100 reais ($19), and often did not report the incidents.
Isadora Galian, another official from the cybercrime unit, said: “That created a perverse situation in which the criminals enjoyed a kind of 'statistical immunity.' They knew most people would not report them, so they operated at scale without fear.”
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