Have you ever received an email from a Nigerian prince? You know, the one where he says that you have a huge sum of money waiting for you in a bank account. To access it, you simply need to send him a cash advance. And he’s so very polite and pleasant about it.

This well-known scam has been around for decades, yet still people fall for it. However, this royal swindler has become much more sophisticated with advanced technology at his disposal. And these days there’s an army of con artists trying to extort money or data from you and they’re getting harder and harder to spot.

Top celebrity scams

You probably wouldn’t believe the Nigerian prince email these days. But what if it was a trusted celebrity endorsing an investment?

An unsuspecting person lost over £285,000 by falling for a bogus investment promotion, supposedly fronted by Dragon’s Den star Peter Jones. The celebrity dragon’s identity was used to lure people into investing in a scam.

Is there a more trusted national broadcaster than Sir David Attenborough? The legendary natural historian is possibly our most beloved TV presenter and authority on all things environmental. So, it’s not surprising that when his face was used to entice people to make investments in certain stocks and shares, many walked into the trap.

The identities of other high profile people have also been used without their knowledge or consent. From money-saving expert Martin Lewis and journalist Piers Morgan to business billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, they’ve all been falsely linked to scam investments.

How to identify a celebrity scam

AI makes deepfake videos and audio that are incredibly convincing. It’s easy to believe that the person on screen is the genuine article. But there are a few signs to look out for when assessing if content is genuine or a scam:

• Unnatural movements and expressions: AI doesn’t always get this quite right. Natural body movements and facial expressions are hard to replicate authentically. Pay attention to how the celebrity moves in the video clip.

• Distorted background: sometimes the background doesn’t look quite right. There may be inconsistencies or something that looks out of place.

• Verified creators: who’s made it? How was it shared? Is it a trusted, verified source? Look for logos, watermarks and identifiers to prove that it’s a legitimate celebrity endorsement.

• Inconsistencies: if anything looks out of place or odd, it may be fake. Perhaps the celebrity’s behaviour is unusual or jars slightly. Take note of any inconsistencies as they can indicate deepfake content.

Small to midsize business scams

Identity theft can happen to anyone – individuals and businesses. Cybercriminals don’t just prey on vulnerable victims. They lurk in inboxes of businesses like yours, waiting to make their move. They monitor your processes and financial transactions. Then they intercept the process to siphon off the funds into their own bank account instead of the intended one.

That’s what happened to a conveyancing firm who were completing their client’s house purchase. The cybercriminals hacked the email account of the law firm and intercepted the correspondence between conveyancer and client at the final stages of the buying process. The client was provided with the wrong payment information and transferred £240,000 to the scammers rather than their solicitor.

“Friday afternoon fraud” has become a significant risk for law firms in particular. By striking on a Friday afternoon, the crime often goes undetected until the Monday. That gives the criminal time to move the money elsewhere before anybody starts looking for it.

Business email compromise

Hundreds of thousands of attacks on business emails happen daily. A staggering 70% of medium sized UK businesses reported a security breach or attack in the last 12 months. How robust is your business email system? Would it deflect a cyberattack?

The majority of successful cyberattacks (91%) start with a phishing email. This form of business email compromise involves the identity theft of a trusted person to trick employees or customers into doing something (such as sharing data or making a financial transaction). That trusted person could be a celebrity, as in the cases mentioned above. But it could also be a member of your senior leadership team. If a member of your finance team was asked to transfer money by the CEO or CFO, would they just do it or question it? That online call with the CEO or CFO could be a deepfake video.

How can you protect your business?

Identity theft and business email compromise are happening all too frequently. Cybercriminals are using AI to produce incredibly convincing scams. But help is at hand. You can fight back and protect your business from cyberattacks.

Huntress provides advanced cybersecurity around the clock. Its winning combination of advanced technology and a team of always-on security experts are there to defend your business systems 24/7.

Using Managed Detection and Response (MDR), Huntress identifies potential cyberattacks early. Then, it responds rapidly to shut it down and minimise damage to your business. That ongoing protection and monitoring can give business owners real peace of mind.

Trust Mirus and Huntress with your cybersecurity

At Mirus, we’ve partnered with Huntress to provide you with top-notch cybersecurity. Their advanced technology and experienced team of security experts provide businesses with powerful defences against cyberattacks.

Protect your business from attack. Don’t let cybercriminals compromise your business emails. Our dedicated team at Mirus IT explore the best cybersecurity options for your business and implement effective solutions.

Chat cybersecurity with our expert team today