Case uae-economy-minister-deepfake-adsDeepfake fraudUnited Arab Emirates
UAE economy minister says his deepfake was used in social media investment scam campaigns
At GITEX 2025, Minister Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri said fraudsters had manipulated his image in video campaigns urging people to invest in shares, and called for deepfake detection technology.
LowAttack using AIStatus: UnresolvedVerified case file
Open in the interactive mapCite this case
- Reported
- Oct 16, 2025
- Location
- United Arab Emirates
- Target
- UAE residents; Economy Minister Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri
- Severity
- Low
- Triggered by
- Unknown
- Actor type
- Criminal
- Reported loss
- None reported
- CVE
- None
What happened
At GITEX 2025, Minister Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri said fraudsters had manipulated his image in video campaigns urging people to invest in shares, and called for deepfake detection technology.
Impact: Ministerial likeness used to lure investors; no loss figures given.
Who triggered it
Actor: Unknown
Attribution: No attribution; the minister described recent targeting by fraudsters.
Motive: Investment fraud using a ministerial endorsement.
How it happened
Attack vector: Manipulated video of the minister in social media ad campaigns.
Root cause: Abundant public footage of officials and limited content authentication.
Timeline
- Minister discloses deepfake targeting at GITEX Global
- Regional press reports the warning
Response
Public warning; call for authentication tools; no enforcement action reported.
Current status: Unresolved
Sources (open in a new tab)
- AGBI agbi.com
- MENA Startup Digest menastartupdigest.com
Cite this case
UAE economy minister says his deepfake was used in social media investment scam campaigns. AI Threat Watch, case uae-economy-minister-deepfake-ads, Oct 16, 2025. https://aithreat.io/cases/uae-economy-minister-deepfake-ads/
Permanent link: https://aithreat.io/cases/uae-economy-minister-deepfake-ads/