Realistic deepfakes leave people at the ‘mercy of scammers’
A consumer group Which? has called for more action against tech firms that fail to block scams.
A study says people are at “the mercy of scammers” thanks to realistic deepfakes.
That's the warning from a consumer group after an experiment found hundreds of adults were unable to identify the AI content.
Which? has called on the Government to ensure regulator Ofcom can take action against tech firms that fail to block scams.
514 adults were shown a random selection of three AI deepfake videos and those with real people in them, by the consumer champion.
Seven in 10 failed to correctly determine all the real and fake videos shown to them, 8% got them all wrong and only 21% were only able to correctly identify one.
One of the deepfake videos featured Boots staff advertising an unlicensed weight loss product.
A spokesperson for the health and beauty retailer said: “These adverts are fake and we urge customers to be vigilant.
“We proactively monitor for this type of content on social media and report any we identify to the platform owners and request that they are urgently removed.”
Social Media Companies making billions from scam ads in Europe alone
The videos were also shown to experts at Kingston University who also failed to correctly identify all the content.
Half of the survey participants who use social media said they believe they see deepfake videos at least once a day.
Global tech strategists Juniper Research estimates social media companies made nearly £3.8 billion in 2025 from scam ads in Europe alone.
Which? said the Home Office’s fraud strategy, published earlier this year, will fail to stop scams reaching people to begin with.
The watchdog urged the Government to ensure Ofcom takes action against tech firms which do not block scams by implementing “robust codes of practice” in the Online Safety Act.
Rocio Concha, Which? head of policy and advocacy, said: “Our investigation into deepfakes on social media shows the public – and even experts – are increasingly at the mercy of scammers exploiting inadequate security on social media platforms.
“This is troubling as we believe the tech giants who profit from scams on their platforms will not take enough action against fraudsters unless they are legally compelled to do so.
“Ofcom must stop kicking the can down the road and implement the Online Safety Act’s measures on fraudulent advertising as soon as possible and the Government must ensure that it does so urgently and robustly.”
The polling was carried out by Deltapoll between March 6 and 9.
The Government to spend £79 million to tackle fraud
A Government spokesperson said: “Scammers who trick people into parting with their money are committing a criminal offence and should expect to be punished. This Government is backing words with action, delivering £79 million this year to tackle fraud head-on.
“We’ve published a Fraud Strategy to protect consumers and disrupt criminal networks. But platforms also have a responsibility to ensure their sites are not providing a forum for material intended to scam the public
“Under the Online Safety Act, services that allow users to upload content or interact with others, including social media platforms, must proactively tackle illegal fraudulent content. This includes fraud by false representation and scam ads, whether shared or generated by users – or face consequences.”