Cybertrading: Blow against the advertisers behind celebrity fakes

Investigators have targeted marketing networks for investment fraud that lure victims with brazen fakes and counterfeit celebrity advertising.

(Image: Butsaya/Shutterstock.com)

Dec 4, 2025 at 11:37 pm CET

3 min. read

Security

By

Marie-Claire Koch

Investigators from the Central Office for Cybercrime Bavaria (Zentralstelle Cybercrime Bayern, ZCB) and the Würzburg Criminal Police have succeeded in a significant blow against the supplier industry of so-called cybertrading fraud. During a raid supported by Europol on November 25, 14 properties in Germany and Israel were searched, including in Tel Aviv and Düsseldorf. The targets were the networks that generate mass data of potential investors with counterfeit advertising and sell it to fraudulent call centers.

Investors are lured to dubious platforms with completely fabricated success stories and the misuse of images of celebrities or TV formats such as "Die Höhle der Löwen" (The Lion's Den). According to a joint press release, the perpetrators promise, for example, AI-optimized profits, but in the end, there are always losses. The raid was specifically aimed at the actors in the background who create the misleading advertising campaigns, and a large affiliate network in Israel, which is said to have resold the obtained customer data to the actual fraud call centers.

Videos by heise

"Based on the investigations to date, there is suspicion that 3,300 data records of German victims alone were made available to fraudulently operating call centers via the affiliate network. According to current findings, at least 120 German victims have lost a total amount of over 1.3 million EUR," the statement said. A considerable dark figure is assumed.

Revenues in the high three-digit million range

Initial analyses indicate that the affiliate network was able to generate revenues in the high three-digit million range. The authorities estimate that the analysis of the extensive data volumes seized during the searches will take a considerable amount of time. Whether the image and video material were generated by AI cannot yet be said with certainty, as Goldbeck said when asked.

AI was likely also used in the creation of the advertising materials. Whether this is the case in the current instance and whether deepfakes were already used is not yet certain, according to Goldbeck. The scam itself is not new. As early as the summer, the consumer advice center had warned that criminals were using deepfakes to create deceptively real videos of celebrities advertising dubious financial products or health supplements. Videos or images of well-known personalities are manipulated in such a way that they seemingly make personal recommendations.

Example of a deepfake with Dieter Hopp, who advertises fraudulent investments. — Criminals create deepfakes of celebrities; in this case, entrepreneur Dieter Hopp's clone advertises fraudulent investments.

(Image: Watchlist-Internet)

The portal "Watchlist-Internet" shows an example of how such fakes look in practice: In a deepfake video, former ski racer Armin Assinger allegedly clarifies an incredible investment opportunity. "Those who invest in Bitcoin projects are millionaires and earn an average of 20,000 to 40,000 euros per month. The most amazing thing is that you only need 250 euros to start and in just one week you can already have your first 10,000 euros," it says in the video with Assinger. After registration, according to the testers, an alleged financial advisor contacts them and requests an initial investment.