Deepfake of Maltese Prime Minister Promotes Fraudulent Crypto Scheme

# Deepfake of Maltese Prime Minister Promotes Fraudulent Crypto Scheme

https://gcdradar.vercel.app/incidents/deepfake-of-maltese-prime-minister-promotes-fraudulent-crypt · AIR-2025-0189 · closed 2025-08-11

- Lane: Breaches & attacks
- Severity: 4 (Confirmed real-world loss)
- Fix status: No fix needed
- First reported: 2025-07-28
- AI role: AI-enabled attack

## Summary

A suspect in Malta used an AI-generated deepfake video of Prime Minister Robert Abela to advertise a cryptocurrency scam. Victims transferred tens of thousands of euros before police arrested the alleged perpetrator.

## What to do

No action recorded; read the sources below and the vendor's advisory.

## Latest updates

- 2025-07-28: Malta's Prime Minister Robert Abela Reportedly Deepfaked by a Ukrainian National in Cryptocurrency Fraud Targeting Local Residents (https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1289)

## Sources

- 2025-07-28 AI Incident Database: Malta's Prime Minister Robert Abela Reportedly Deepfaked by a Ukrainian National in Cryptocurrency Fraud Targeting Local Residents https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1289

Verify against the vendor's advisory before changing production. Data CC BY-SA 4.0, https://gcdradar.vercel.app.