NASSAU, BAHAMAS- The Central Bank of The Bahamas has issued a warning against “deepfake” scams and fraudulent online content impersonating its officials, cautioning the public not to fall victim to fake ads, videos, and social media posts promoting bogus investment opportunities.
“The public is cautioned to avoid falling victim to fake internet ads, videos, and social media posts impersonating the Central Bank’s officials regarding investment opportunities being offered by the Central Bank of The Bahamas. Links associated with these posts should not be clicked,” the Central Bank has warned. It noted that with the prevalent use of artificial intelligence (AI), the public is encouraged to beware of “deepfakes”. Deepfakes are fake, AI-generated or manipulated, images, videos and audio recordings impersonating reputable individuals, or portraying activities that did not take place.
“Members of the public should always be skeptical and avoid giving out personal information to individuals or companies they do not know. They should also refrain from making payments to unknown persons. Except for purchases of Bahamas Government bonds, savings bonds and treasury bills, the Central Bank does not offer loans, banking or any other private investment services to the general public.
Legitimate payments to the Central Bank can only take place via local Commercial Banks, and only through the secure channels which each Commercial Bank is able to verify. The links provided on social media and other platforms should never be used to get to Commercial Bank websites,” the Central Bank noted.
It added that all of its communications can be verified by navigating to its website or official social media pages. The public is encouraged to report suspected attempts at fraud and scams to the Royal Bahamas Police Force, and to flag and report these on the social media platforms on which they are detected.
