Woburn, MA – December 18, 2023 – Kaspersky has discovered a widespread series of investment scams targeting both Android and iOS users. The investigation revealed over 300 fraudulent applications, as well as hundreds of fake endorsement videos featuring deepfakes of prominent figures.
The fraudulent apps were designed to lure unsuspecting users with natural gas investments and purported quantum investment algorithms. The applications have been distributed through various Android app stores, including GetApps on Xiaomi devices and Palm Store on Tecno devices. Some of the apps even made it to the recommended list in one app store, falsely implying endorsement and misleading users into installing them. The investigation extended to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, where Kaspersky identified several applications with the term "Oil Profit" in their names. These applications have been reported to the platforms and consequently deleted from the app stores.
Separately, Kaspersky identified a substantial number of deepfake videos promoting various fraudulent investment platforms. These videos feature deepfakes of well-known figures, including politicians, actors and business leaders, endorsing the schemes. The videos are meticulously crafted, incorporating genuine footage of official events and public appearances, lending an air of authenticity to the scams.
One video, targeting a Russian-speaking audience, promotes an investment platform named "Tesla X,” claiming that it is a side project by Elon Musk to develop self-driving car technology. Another video, in Turkish, features a faked Recep Tayyip Erdogan endorsing an investment platform that supposedly allows users to earn substantial profits by investing a mere 5,000 Turkish lira (about $17.00) in shares of BOTAŞ, the Turkish state-owned oil and gas pipeline company.
Similar videos were identified in Spanish, where alleged Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim recommends investing in oil through the "Oil Profit" platform.
Kaspersky's investigation found hundreds of similar videos tailored for different countries and regions, exploiting local familiarity to maximize the impact of the scams. These fraudulent endorsements target citizens with promises of guaranteer returns, exploiting names ranging from Moldova's Moldindconbank to Kazakhstan's KaxMunayGas, Romania's Romgaz, and even global giants like Samsung.
"While scams themselves are not a new challenge, the use of deepfake videos involving global leaders, the spread of fake news reports in different languages, and a widespread advertising push present a notable shift in deceptive strategies,” said Dmitry Kalinin, cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky. “Although we've encountered such scams in the past, the incorporation of deepfakes featuring well-known figures, multilingual fake news reports, and an extensive promotional campaign is a unique and concerning development.”
More information on these investment scams is available on Kaspersky Daily.
To protect yourself from phishing and scam, Kaspersky recommends:
• If you encounter an offer to make money with minimal effort, treat it cautiously.
• Do not trust an offer if it is too good to be true. Equipped by the modern AI technologies, it is easy for fraudsters to make a deepfake to make a scam look legit.
• Check the link before clicking. Hover over it to preview the URL, and look for misspellings or other irregularities
• Even if a message or email comes from one of your best friends, remember that their accounts could also have been hacked. Remain cautious in any situation. Even if a message seems friendly, treat links and attachments with caution
• Sometimes emails and websites look legitimate. It depends on how well the criminals did their homework. But the hyperlinks, most likely, will be incorrect – they’ll often contain spelling mistakes, or they redirect you to a different place
• Install a trusted security solution and follow its recommendations. Then secure solutions will solve most problems automatically and alert you if it is necessary.
About Kaspersky
Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity and digital privacy company founded in 1997. Kaspersky’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into innovative solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection, specialized security products and services, as well as Cyber Immune solutions to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. Over 400 million users are protected by Kaspersky technologies and we help over 220,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. Learn more at www.kaspersky.com.
