Warning first published 6 August 2024. Updated 7 April 2026.
Scammers are impersonating New Zealand politicians and business leaders, using fake news articles to promote fraudulent investment platforms. The fake news stories feature convincing deepfake videos and images of politicians, business leaders, and celebrities.
Some examples of these fake news stories include:
- False reports that a politician or business leader is endorsing a new investment platform.
- Attention-grabbing headlines about a dispute between public figures.
- Claims that the secret source of a public figure’s wealth has been revealed.
- Claims that New Zealanders will receive ‘income’ or ‘dividend’ payments from the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). The IRD has confirmed these claims are false.
- Claims that pension payments have been cancelled. These stories are designed to promote fear about the stability of New Zealand’s superannuation system.
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.
