Brazilian authorities have arrested four suspects accused of using deepfake videos of supermodel Gisele Bündchen and other celebrities in Instagram ads to defraud victims of millions of dollars.
Police froze assets across five states and uncovered more than 20 million reais ($3.9 million) in suspicious funds, according to Brazil’s anti-money laundering agency COAF. The operation marks one of the country’s first major crackdowns on the use of artificial intelligence to manipulate celebrity images for online scams.
The investigation began in August 2024 after a victim reported being deceived by an Instagram ad featuring an altered video of Bündchen promoting a skincare product. Another ad used her likeness to advertise a fake suitcase giveaway, where victims paid shipping fees for items that never arrived.
“We identified that the criminal group carried out a series of other scams, involving deepfakes of other celebrities and false betting platforms,” said Eibert Moreira Neto, head of Rio Grande do Sul’s cybercrime unit.
Investigators said the suspects targeted large numbers of users with low-value scams, typically under 100 reais ($19), exploiting the fact that most victims would not report the crimes. “That created a perverse situation in which the criminals enjoyed a kind of ‘statistical immunity,’” said Isadora Galian from the cybercrime unit. “They knew most people would not report them, so they operated at scale without fear.”
The Supreme Court of Brazil ruled in June that social media platforms can be held liable for criminal ads posted by users if they fail to act swiftly to remove them, even without a court order.
Instagram owner Meta said it removes deceptive ads when detected, adding that its policies forbid “ads that deceptively use public figures to try to scam people.” The company said it invests in detection systems, trained review teams, and reporting tools to curb such abuse.
A spokesperson for Bündchen’s team urged consumers to be cautious of celebrity-endorsed ads offering unusual discounts, verify offers through official channels, and report suspected scams to authorities.
