AI Is Being Used To Scam People: Example Of False Facebook Ad In New Zealand
Don't be fooled! Let's look at one example, seen today...
I noticed an ad on Facebook today. It struck me that the woman was promoting a health product, wearing a hospital staff uniform, standing outside Auckland Hospital, saying she works for Auckland District Health Board (DHB).
Please share this with friends who may be susceptible to being sucked into fake ads and scams!
I sent it to a medical friend and questioned its ethics. Then I went back and looked again. And again… here’s what I discovered.
Separating fact from fiction
Rule # 1: If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. This ad promises dramatic weight loss by not putting any effort in yourself, except investing in a product.
Rule # 2: A third party is promoting itself as being aligned to another big brand. In this instance it’s a ‘staff member’ with a testimony that is not in line with her ‘job’ something not related to an Auckland hospital. This breaches a whole bunch of ethics and laws, I’m sure.
Establish the facts: The Auckland District Health Board (ADHB) was disestablished on July 1, 2022, and its functions were transferred to Te Whatu Ora, becoming part of Te Whatu Ora.
Visual clues: I zoomed in on the logo on the woman’s shirt. Above is the actual Auckland DHB logo, and three instances of it during the video. Here is the video…
Scarily real-looking people, who are totally fake
We are now bombarded with videos, ads and memes where faces are shown morphing into different ages etc. This type of AI is being used in the fake advertisement here to depict passages of time. So, be warned. It’s everywhere.
More tips to spotting fake ads
This is the ad associated to the above video…
It has a long post full of all the words and phrases you might have spoken out loud or punched into your online search (PS: I don’t like my thighs and I talk about it when my phone is in earshot!).
The ad works hard to validate itself as ‘real’ by introducing a person who sounds like ‘us’. Name, age, address… ‘sounds’ legit. How easy is it to be duped!
She tells a highly believable story, that will resonate with many women.
Read the fine print
If an ad has caught your attention, do yourself a favour and do some checking before you send your $$ off. In this example… look at the website. Here, ‘unitexl.com’ is unrelated to the company name on the ad ‘Complete Wellness Path’.
AI isn’t great at regenerating text
A dead giveaway is that AI doesn’t create very good text-based images. As well as the changing ADHB logo example above, at the end of this ad the woman holds up a pamphlet.
However, the video scenes move fast, so it’s difficult for our eyes to pick up on every trick. Our brain orders the visuals into a message that it understands, and is looking for confirmation. So it’ll see it. We are being manipulated.
Final legitimacy check
If you’re interested in the product being advertised, check out actual profile page. In this example:
‘Complete Wellness Path’ makes a claim that it’s the ‘#1 Hospital in the World… erm, yeah, ok.
The page only has 1,100 followers, is following 0 people and has 20 posts. If they were THAT good, they’d be headline news and have millions of followers.
No other post content as visible. Which means they just place ads. (For people who are vulnerable to being duped).
You can also go and search them up online… outside of the app where the ad appeared. I didn’t bother, because I’d already seen enough.
Most of us are time poor. Many of us want a quick fix. Most of us have a short attention span. Most of us don’t read fine-print. Today’s busy lifestyle, and social media and information overload, has created the perfect environment for scammers.
So please, be aware. Remember Rule # 1: If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.
What can you and I do?
I made this post… I hope it helps someone. Please share it if you want to help others look out for the traps of AI being used in this way.
Make a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority. I just did. Make sure you have the URL of the ad and screenshots, as you can add 3 files to your complaint.
If advertise on social media… it’s in your interests to submit complaints on fake ads - as you may be completing for them for visibility. You and users of social media want to see real ads for real products and services that they can trust.
Scammers rely on people simply trolling on past and not caring, most people can’t be bothered reporting anything, because it takes time and energy. I am guilty of this myself, however I walked my talk today and lodged a complaint.
Penny Marie
Your support is extremely appreciated thank you!