Deepfake video of Hong Kong finance chief Paul Chan used in sham news report
Police investigating as government warns public not to believe online video in which figure resembling Chan advertises fake investment platform
Hong Kong authorities have warned the public over a scam that uses a deepfake video of the finance chief touting a new government investment opportunity, saying police have already launched an investigation.
In the faked TV news clip, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po tells an interviewer about a rare opportunity available to investors who get in early on the newly launched “Government Investment Platform”. But the platform does not exist and Chan never made such comments.
“The information is totally fictitious and is intended to deceive,” a government spokesman said, urging the public not to fall for the scam.
In the clip, Chan claims the investment opportunity could help “tens of thousands of people all over Hong Kong over 40” quit their jobs and retire early.
“With a small investment of HK$1,945 [US$250], you can earn more than HK$7,780 per week,” he says. “It is like an early retirement or a salary increase that multiplies your savings many times over.”
The video suggested that the investment platform was based on advanced technologies, and if the investor did not earn the money as promised, Chan would return the principal “from his own pocket”.
The video was also circulated with a fake link to what looks at first glance to be a Post story about the investment. It carries the headline: “Paul Chan Mo-po’s New Project Has Already Made More Than 10,000 Hong Kong Residents Happy!”