Warning issued over deepfake ads that expose people to ‘the mercy of scammers’
A consumer group has warned that realistic deepfake ads are putting the public at risk of scams. Which? conducted a survey revealing that many adults struggle to distinguish between real and AI-generated content. The group is urging the government to empower Ofcom to take action against tech firms that do not adequately address these fraudulent schemes.
- ▪A survey by Which? found that 70% of participants could not correctly identify real and fake videos.
- ▪One deepfake ad featured fake promotions for an unlicensed weight loss product, misleading consumers.
- ▪Juniper Research estimates that social media companies earned nearly £3.8 billion from scam ads in Europe in 2025.
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NewsUKHome NewsWarning issued over deepfake ads that expose people to ‘the mercy of scammers’Which? has called on the government to ensure regulator Ofcom can take action against tech firms that fail to block scamsEllie Ng Wednesday 27 May 2026 00:01 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2983728","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/deepfakes-social-media-scam-ai-which-ofcom-b2983728.html","title":"Warning issued over deepfake ads that expose people to ‘the mercy of scammers’"}}Ofcom launches investigation into Grok AI…
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