Claim: Robert Abela and Mark Laurence Zammit are promoting an AI-driven trading platform.

Verdict: Scammers have doctored a genuine interview using an audio deepfake to try to dupe people into signing up for a fraudulent scheme.

A new batch of scam posts is using manipulated audio to show leading public figures claiming to promote fraudulent investments.

Amongst the most popular is a post appearing to show Times of Malta’s Mark Laurence Zammit and Prime Minister Robert Abela deep in discussion over an AI-driven trading platform which magically transforms a one-time €250 payment into a monthly €30,000 income.

The investment is “protected by the Central Bank of Malta,” Abela reassures Zammit in the clip, “so you have nothing to worry about”.

In response, Zammit appears convinced, apparently inquiring: "You have a reputation as a trustworthy person. Could you explain how this project works?"

Countless victims of fraud

But the post is just the latest in a long line of scams that have seen countless people fall victim to fraudsters in recent years.

The scam lifts genuine footage from a November 2022 interview published on the Times of Malta website and its social media pages.

But while the footage may be genuine, the audio track is anything but.

In the original 56-minute interview, Abela’s first with this newsroom since becoming prime minister, he and Zammit discuss a whole host of issues, ranging from corruption to abortion and environmental degradation.

Unsurprisingly, suspicious investment trading platforms did not feature in the interview at all.

Audio deepfake used to mimic intonation

The topic of discussion isn’t the only area in which the scam post departs from the original interview.

While the interview was originally conducted in Maltese (and presented with English subtitles), the scam post gives both Abela and Zammit an English-language speech track, attributing to them words and phrases that they never said.

The doctored video uses an audio deepfake of both Abela and Zammit to mimic their voices and intonation, in an attempt to dupe viewers into falling for the scam.

While the deepfake may not be quite convincing enough to trick eagle-eyed (or eared) viewers, several people have contacted Times of Malta in recent days to ask whether the post is genuine.

This is not the first time that this particular interview has been fodder for scammers.

Two years ago, footage from the very same interview ended up in a series of similar scams pushing a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment.

And last year, a whole host of fake posts using local politicians, journalists and celebrities flooded Maltese social media in an effort to get people to sign up for a fraudulent crypto platform.

Verdict

The posts lift genuine footage from an interview between Robert Abela and Mark Laurence Zammit published in November 2022.

An audio deepfake, mimicking their voices and intonation is superimposed over the footage, to make them appear as though they are saying things they never actually said.

The doctored video hopes to get people to sign up for a fraudulent scheme.

The original footage, in which Abela and Zammit discuss issues such as corruption, the environment and abortion, is still available on the Times of Malta website and social media platforms.

This claim is therefore false, as the evidence clearly refutes the claim.

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