08 August 2025

Fake political endorsement warning: fake news stories and deepfake videos - multiple trading platforms

First Date Published: 06 August 2024

The FMA has received multiple reports about a scam using fake endorsements from New Zealand politicians. The politicians’ names and images are being misused by scammers in fabricated news articles and deepfake videos to promote fake online investment schemes.

New Zealanders who have invested through these fake online investment schemes are not able to withdraw their funds and can lose considerable amounts of money.

This scam uses fake news stories, multiple websites and advertisements promoting different phoney investment schemes.

Examples of fake news stories include:

Claims that New Zealanders will receive “income” or “dividend” payments from Inland Revenue Department (IRD). The IRD has confirmed these claims are false. There is no pool of tax funds becoming available for distribution to New Zealanders.
Claims that pension payments have been cancelled. These stories are designed to promote fear about the stability of New Zealand’s superannuation system.
Claims that the government has significantly lowered the retirement age.
Claims that the government or politicians are endorsing specific investment opportunities for New Zealanders.

Extreme caution

The FMA recommends extreme caution when engaging with social media advertisements or links in news aggregators that include fake political endorsements promoting investment opportunities.

Do not click on these ads or links, and do not enter your personal information into these websites.

If you have been contacted by a scammer after entering your personal information into one of these websites, do not make any payments or transfer any money to the scammers.

How the scam works

Scammers draw victims in through advertisements on social media and news aggregators. These ads feature images or deepfake videos of New Zealand politicians with fake quotes about investment opportunities.
These ads link through to fake news articles featuring false quotes and endorsements from politicians, usually promoting an investment platform. These articles are often made to appear as though they’re being published by genuine New Zealand media organisations.
These fake news articles have links to other websites which advertise investment platforms or promote educational materials about investments. These websites have registration forms where potential victims are asked to enter contact details.
Scammers then contact the victim claiming to be an investment broker and giving investing instructions. Victims are encouraged to first make a small investment (around US$250/NZ$420). Requests for larger investments will likely follow.
When the victim asks to withdraw funds, they are told they must first pay fees before money can be released. Even if these fees are paid, no money is returned.

What to do if you think you have been scammed?

Contact your bank immediately. Ask if a transaction reversal is possible. If you sent money using another payments service provider, ask them to trace the funds.
If you have downloaded remote access software on the instructions of the scammers, immediately contact an IT professional to have your device checked for malware. If you have accessed your bank account or other payment systems while the remote access software was operating on your device, report this to the relevant account providers.
If you keep getting phone calls from scammers, report them to your telecommunications provider.
If you are getting spam emails and text messages, report these to the Department of Internal Affairs.
Tell a trusted relative or friend what has happened. They may help you see the situation more clearly, help you deal with the scammers, and suggest what to do next.
Contact Victim Support on 0800 842 846. They can provide free emotional and practical support and information.

Contacts to be wary of:

Entity Name	Website	Email Address	Phone	Date added to warning
Paradech	Paradech.com	[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]	-	20 August 2025
Paribas Group (Imposter)	paribasgroup.com; client.paribasgroup.eu	[email protected]; [email protected]	+64 4488 0661; +1 (814) 520-3824	8 August 2025
Statefunds	statefunds.com statefunds.co; my.statefunds.co	[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Katrina.s@ statefunds.co	+41225083049 +41225083042 +41 4497 46978	8 August 2025 (Updated on 20 August 2025)
Capital Systematics	system-capital.org	[email protected]	+44 776 764 05 56; +44 776 746 37 98	8 August 2025
Sapphire Partners Inc.	webtrader.sapphirepartners.cc; sapphirepartners.inc	[email protected]	+61 485 988 589; +64 22 456 8245; +44 20 457 877 42; +64 21 1253 283; +44 75 481 473 38	9 June 2025
MonXetBit App	monxetbitapp-nz.com; monxetbitapp.com	[email protected]; [email protected]	-	28 January 2025
OrionDFX	oriondfx.com	[email protected]; [email protected]	-	4 December 2024
Vergo Markets	vergomarkets.co		-	18 November 2024
TradeTide	tradetide.net	[email protected]	-	6 November 2024
BTCap	btcap.co	[email protected]; [email protected]	-	5 November 2024
Finance Phantom AI™	financephantomai.com	-	-	4 November 2024
Invepex	invepex.com	-	-	1 November 2024
VictoryXcap	victoryxcap.com	[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]	-	18 October 2024
ProClubTeam	proclubteam.com	[email protected]	-	9 October 2024
Finance Phantom	finance-phantom.nz	[email protected]	-	9 October 2024
Immediate Edge	pleasantery.com	-	-	9 October 2024
Education Home	educationh.net	[email protected]	-	8 October 2024
Top First Group	topfirstgroup.com	[email protected]	-	19 September 2024

Deepfakes

Scammers use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create highly convincing deepfake videos, images or audio clips. These deepfakes manipulate the voice and likeness of individuals, such as celebrities or politicians, to falsely promote investment scams. These deepfakes are created to make the scam look credible and can be very difficult to detect.

To learn more about deepfakes and how to spot them, see:

Netsafe: Understanding Deep Fakes

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