Cases of deepfake-video fraud are increasing in Cyprus: people are losing tens of thousands of euros

Residents of Cyprus are increasingly becoming victims of scammers who use AI-generated videos and voices. According to authorities, about 15 people have already lost between €10,000 and €15,000 each after believing fake videos featuring President Nikos Christodoulides and well-known politicians, businessmen and celebrities.

One such video showed President Christodoulides together with Averof Neofytou and Harris Georgiades, supposedly promoting an “investment platform” that promised prosperity for everyone. The platform turned out to be fraudulent.

The Commissioner of the Office of Digital Security, Yiorgos Michaelides, openly admits that currently there are no reliable tools capable of protecting citizens from AI abuse.

“It is very difficult to protect yourself. You need to be extremely careful — look at the details, the hands, the fingers. Even now it is hard to tell a fake, and in the coming years it will be even harder, because AI keeps improving,” he noted.

In recent months, the image of easyGroup founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou (fake crypto project “easyProfit”), singer Anna Vissi, ECB President Christine Lagarde and businessman John Christodoulou has been used in various schemes — their “voices” and “faces” were used to promise incredible investment returns. Other fakes have also appeared on social media — for example, a video with Donald Trump allegedly promising to “save Cyprus” and speaking about Turks. Many believed the video was real.

Michaelides warns that fraudulent AI can appear anywhere — in video calls, voice messages, photos, chats and correspondence. Even experts sometimes lack the technical tools to quickly detect fakes.

At the EU level, mandatory labelling of AI-generated content is being discussed, but as the Commissioner points out, this system will work only for legal services, not for criminals. Therefore, the key recommendation for citizens is not to trust first impressions and always verify information:

— double-check sources;

— avoid clicking suspicious links;

— if in doubt, call the bank, company or person via official contacts.

“If we are not careful, we will be at the mercy of artificial intelligence. We must check and double-check. Everything depends on us,” Michaelides concluded.