AI in action · Investor protection
UK Police: AI Fake Endorsements Took £24.3M From Investors
UK fraud reports show £24.3 million lost to investment scams using AI and deepfake endorsements from January to August 2026. People aged 60 or over made nearly 80% of the 1,300-plus reports.
Britain's national fraud reporting service has started counting the scams in which artificial intelligence did part of the selling. Data from Report Fraud, published by the City of London Police on October 27, shows that between January and August 2026 victims lost £24.3 million to fake investment schemes where AI, deepfakes included, was used to make the offer look credible. The service received more than 1,300 such reports, and police said each one was checked to confirm that AI had actually been involved.
The method is an old one with better production. Criminals create deepfake adverts or fake news articles in which a well-known public figure or a trusted financial institution appears to endorse an investment. Victims who click are asked for their personal details and are then contacted by people posing as financial advisers, who take over the conversation from there.
The age profile is the striking part. People aged 60 or over made 1,033 of the reports, close to 80% of the total, which makes them by far the most affected group. In September, police in Northern Ireland described a case in which a victim lost £250,000 after watching an AI-generated video of a financial personality: it began with a small test payment and moved to WhatsApp, where the fraudsters took remote control of the victim's computer.
Commander Ollie Shaw of the City of London Police warned that criminals use several forms of AI to make bogus schemes appear legitimate, and pointed investors to the FCA's Firm Checker to confirm that a firm is authorised before sending any money. A video in which a celebrity or a bank recommends a scheme proves nothing about who is behind it; the register entry, the firm's details and a phone number taken from the register rather than the advert are what count.
Because the figure covers only cases that were reported and in which AI was confirmed, it is a floor rather than an estimate of the full damage. For families, the most useful step may be the plainest one: talk to older relatives about fake endorsement videos before they meet one in their feed.
Sources: City of London Police — Report Fraud warning after £24.3 million stolen through AI enabled investment endorsement schemes (Oct 27, 2026); Resultsense — Victim loses £250,000 to AI deepfake investment scam (Sep 8, 2026), on the PSNI warning