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Executive Summary
In July 2025, one of CloudSEK’s premier banking clients had reached out, requesting assistance to investigate a wave of social media content, depicting the rise of a new “finfluencer” named Shewta Sharma. The suspicious nature of Shweta’s guarantees of unrealistic returns from the stock market, aided by an upfront payment, is concerning.
Shwetha was merely a figure impersonating a popular beauty influencer. Scammers utilized deepfake content to drive engagement to their Telegram channels, withholding the invested money under the guise of stuck payments. They further request more payments to free up the principal amount, leading to a never-ending cycle. Almost 120 actively running ads were found from various accounts.
With the number of complaints on the outlet “Consumer Complaints Court” racking up against the bogus finfluencer, including grievances regarding non-payment of money citing various excuses, it creates a cause of concern amongst the general public. This feeds into the FOMO of not investing in the stock market and racking up unrealized returns with unrealistic expectations.
This report will be providing insights into the wave of content that is aiming to dupe people, helping banks to conduct awareness drives aimed at customers to distrust unreliable finfluencers without any solid background or credentials to back them at handling customers’ hard-earned money.
Scam Orchestration Flow
Note: Relevant pages tied to this scam operation have been mentioned in the Appendix section of this advisory
Drawing parallels with pig-butchering scams that are aided by deepfake videos of your favorite celebrity, urging the common public to chase a once in a lifetime opportunity, this blind chase is fueling a surge in scams like rug pulls, where investors pour money into fraudulent schemes and promises (often without any credible evidence to back it’s legitimacy) only to watch their funds vanish overnight.
Here, we have a wave of deepfake content that’s used by scammers to convince the general public. The narrative is to invest in the stock market, with a nominal investment being required, and a standing claim that the money would be doubled in 2 or 3 hours, via trading on the stock market.
With those rates of returns standing no ground in a neutral sense, people are still feeding into the FOMO of not investing in the stock market, and not forgoing the chance to rack up unrealized returns. These funds then go to the scammers’ pockets, with hopeful people left in the lurch on the initial amount being returned to them.
These carry a similarity to penny stocks being peddled through promotions, via SMS, leading to an eventual pump-and-dump scenario.
Analysis
The finfluncer’s content started gaining traction around May 2025, with social media outlets like Instagram and Facebook being utilized to run ads. Screenshots of instant payments made via UPI to investors also helped to drive traffic. From a neutral point of view, the screenshots indicate transfer of amounts within the scammer’s accounts and then driving a narrative - using testimonials.
Here are some of our observations:-
Usage of Deepfakes:
The finfluencer has been utilizing deepfakes to land attention to her investment strategies. Allying herself with banks to appear legitimate, and using these brands to back her credentials. An example is that of using a multinational public-sector bank’s advertisement and it’s brand ambassadors to promote her investment strategy.
Another deepfake instance is that of using a private bank’s advertisement media, and utilizing it to promote the scammer’s investment strategies.
Findings:-
- Number of deepfake scam ads - Over 120, originating from 20 Facebook accounts
- Platforms they appear on - Facebook and Instagram
- Languages - English
- Multiple Versions exist? - Yes. The advertisers often use the same image or video and text to create ad campaigns with different start dates, locations or budgets
Active Impersonation Attempts:
During our investigation process, it was found that the severity of the case goes deeper. Videos of Shweta Sharma in circulation are in fact, those of “Prerna Nigam”, a lifestyle influencer, more notably known as the runner up of the Mrs. Femina 2021 Beauty Pageant
This discovery established the fact that a group of scamsters are behind this orchestrated operation to swindle money, rather than having a real finfluencer to be the face of this scam operation.
Most of the content that is circulated on the scamsters’ various profiles were lifted from Prerna’s Instagram account.
Existence of more bogus finfluencers:
During our dive into Shweta’s multitude of ads across social media, domains used to promote them and from performing a reverse IP on them, domain names containing the names of other bogus finfluencers could be discovered
A notable example is that of a bogus finfluencer named “Elena Fernandez”. In this case, the identity and photos of Tjin Lee, a Fashion Content Creator was embossed over posts, in the guise of offering investment advice.
Tjin Lee had addressed the confusion amongst potential victims on Facebook
Beyond the Illusion - Exploring the wave of Deepfake Finfluencer Content
The screenshot of the video showcased above is not real.
The face, the voice, the seemingly authentic endorsement - all generated or manipulated using AI. Yet, it convincingly presents itself as a genuine financial tip from a trusted public figure.
This is the new face of fraud, where trust sells to lure and trap people
Since mid 2023, a growing number of campaigns have begun weaponizing deepfake technology to impersonate influential business leaders, celebrities, and financial experts, on Indians’ social media feeds. Their goal: to convince unsuspecting users to invest money in fraudulent crypto platforms, “quantum trading apps,” or traps labelled as pig butchering
But while the technology used is sophisticated, the real story lies in the scale of the operation - and the platforms that enable it.
The Volume of Fake
Using a combination of open-source data, and Meta’s Ad Library data, we found:
- A 400% increase in scam videos using deepfake elements between 2023 and 2025.
- Pages running identical video templates in multiple languages.
Ads featuring impersonations of personalities such as Mukesh Ambani, Ratan Tata, and even local Indian startup founders, with only minor voice/dialect adjustments for regional targeting.
Other statistics:
- Meta removed over 23,000 Facebook pages/accounts in India and Brazil in March 2025, many using deepfake videos of public figures to promote fake investment or gambling platforms
- In Q1 2025 alone, there was a 19% increase in deepfake incidents compared to all of 2024
Meta relies mainly on automated classifiers to scan every ad for policy violations. Only if an ad is flagged (or after many reports) will it be manually pulled. The company has even begun testing facial‐recognition tools to catch “celeb‐bait” ads that use an image of a public figure
But savvy scammers use non-celeb actors or AI voices to slip through these filters.
The Money Behind the Illusion
Meta’s ad platform is designed for broad reach with small spend. Impressions (the count of times an ad is shown) can snowball quickly. In marketing terms, “impressions” count every time an ad appears on a user’s screen (even repeats by the same person)
By contrast, “reach” is unique users. So if one user sees a scam ad 3 times, that’s 3 impressions. Meta’s Ad Library actually provides impression counts in rough ranges (e.g. 1,000–5,000 views) for archived ads Researchers using the library have found that modest budgets yield large exposure. For instance, one fake-investment page spent ≈US$500 and earned ~10,000 impressions in just a few days
Detection of Bogus Pages
Utilization of gclnk.com links. These redirect users to Telegram Channels endorsed by scammers. These are embedded within the Profile Intro section of a Facebook Page
Paperwork
Dubious scheme names promoted by these pages:
- Women Investment Power Empowerment Scheme
- Indian Money (Government of India)
Complaints:
Impact:
1. Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860
- Section 419 – Cheating by personation: Punishable with up to 3 years in prison and/or fine.
- Section 468 – Forgery for the purpose of cheating: Applicable when fake endorsements or documents are used.
- Section 500 – Defamation: If someone's reputation (especially a celebrity) is harmed by false association.
2. Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000
- Section 66D – Cheating by personation using computer resources: Punishable with up to 3 years in prison and fine up to ₹1 lakh.
- Section 66C – Identity theft: Use of personal data or images without consent.
IPC Provisions (Criminal Offences) - for digital fraud commited using Deepfakes
- Cheating and Personation (Sections 415–420 IPC): Fraudulent deepfakes used to induce loss (e.g. fake investment schemes) fall under “cheating” and “cheating by personation.” These carry up to 7 years’ imprisonment.
- Forgery (Sections 463–465, 469 IPC): Fabricating or altering digital records is forgery. In the high-profile Rashmika Mandanna deepfake propagation case, Delhi police charged the accused under IPC 465 and 469 (creating a false electronic record and forgery with intent to damage reputation) for a deepfake video.
- Defamation (Sections 499–500 IPC): Deepfake content that publishes false harmful imputations on a person’s reputation can constitute defamation. Since deepfakes “make or publish any imputatio, intending to “harm” someone’s reputation. They fall squarely under IPC 499–500 if the material is untrue and injurious.
For the Victims (Public):
- Loss of savings due to fraud
- Psychological trauma and mistrust in legitimate platforms
- Reduced confidence in digital investments
For the Offenders:
- Criminal charges, jail time, and fines
- Civil lawsuits from both the public and the person whose identity was misused
- Blocking of websites/domains by government agencies, using takedowns
- Asset seizures in case of financial fraud
Conclusion
In an age where online scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, often using deepfakes and impersonation to appear credible, it is essential to approach financial advice with caution. Promises of guaranteed or unusually high returns should immediately raise red flags, especially when tied to upfront payments.
Before investing or transferring funds, individuals must ensure that the advisor or platform is registered with SEBI or affiliated with a recognized financial institution. Conducting proper due diligence is not just advisable - it is necessary. Trust should be placed only in verified sources with proven credentials, as your financial security depends on informed, cautious decisions.
References
Appendix
Table 1 - Facebook pages involved in swindling the public
Table 2 - Telegram Channels pages involved in establishing contact
Table 3 - Domains associated with ads on Facebook and Instagram
Table 4 - Instagram pages involved in swindling the public
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