AI-Generated Deepfake Videos of Elon Musk and Dragon's Den Used in $2.3M Crypto Fraud Targeting Canadians
AI-generated deepfake video has reached sufficient quality and accessibility that criminal networks are using it at scale for financial fraud — with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reporting $103 million in crypto scam losses in 2025 alone and individual victims losing their life savings.
Narrative
In July 2023, a 51-year-old woman in Markham, Ontario saw a deepfake video on Facebook featuring a synthetic likeness and altered voice of Elon Musk, claiming viewers could “make money daily” investing in his cryptocurrency platform. She made an initial $250 e-transfer and was shown fabricated profits of US$30 within two days — establishing false credibility. Over the following months, she took out a $1 million second mortgage, made transfers of $300,000-$350,000 at a time, and watched a fake dashboard show her account growing past $3 million. When she attempted to withdraw, scammers demanded she pay “taxes and fees” first. She borrowed an additional $500,000 from family and friends to pay these fees. She lost $1.7 million total — her entire retirement savings and home equity.
Separately, Donald Hanrahan of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island saw a Facebook Story appearing to be endorsed by Dragon’s Den. Starting with small amounts, he escalated to investing $10,000 per day. His fake dashboard showed his investment growing past $1 million. He lost his entire $600,000 life savings.
A W5 investigation aired December 19, 2025 traced many of the scam operations to criminal compounds in Southeast Asia — including more than 35 buildings in one Philippines location “designed for the sole purpose of scamming,” with many operators themselves trafficking victims forced to make calls 16 hours per day. Former US prosecutor Erin West criticized Meta directly, stating the platform is “enabling these bad actors to reach their prey.” Meta did not provide a public response specific to the Canadian cases documented in this report.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reported $103 million lost specifically to crypto investment scams in 2025 and $420 million to investment fraud overall — a 15% increase from 2024. Dragon’s Den and CBC had posted warnings about fake Facebook ads impersonating the show as early as April 2020, but the advent of deepfake video has made these scams substantially more convincing.
Harms
A 51-year-old Ontario woman lost $1.7 million — her entire retirement savings, home equity via a second mortgage, and $500,000 borrowed from family and friends — after being deceived by a deepfake video of Elon Musk on Facebook endorsing a fraudulent cryptocurrency platform.
A Prince Edward Island man, Donald Hanrahan, lost his entire $600,000 life savings after being lured by a deepfake Dragon's Den video into a fraudulent crypto scheme, investing up to $10,000 per day at peak.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reported $103 million lost specifically to crypto investment scams in 2025 and $420 million to investment fraud overall — a 15% increase from 2024 — with deepfake-enabled scams an accelerating component of this trend.
Affected Populations
- Canadian investors targeted through social media, particularly older adults
- victims of deepfake-enabled financial fraud
Entities Involved
Facebook was the primary distribution platform for the deepfake videos that lured both victims; former US prosecutor Erin West stated Meta is 'enabling these bad actors to reach their prey'; Dragon's Den/CBC had warned of fake ads on Facebook since April 2020
Reported $103 million in crypto investment scam losses in 2025 and warned about the sophistication of AI-generated deepfakes used in fraud
AI System Context
Unknown deepfake generation tools were used to create synthetic video and voice of Elon Musk and Dragon's Den personalities. The AI produced manipulated videos that "speak, move and act in extremely believable ways," distributed via Facebook ads to target Canadian victims.
Preventive Measures
- Require social media platforms to implement deepfake detection on video advertisements, particularly those promoting financial investments
- Mandate that platforms remove verified deepfake ads within hours of detection and proactively block recirculation of known fraudulent content
- Strengthen financial institution safeguards against rapid large transfers to cryptocurrency platforms, including mandatory cooling-off periods for unusual transaction patterns
- Require cryptocurrency exchanges to implement enhanced verification for incoming transfers that match known fraud patterns
Related Records
- carney-deepfake-election-scam related
- AI-Enabled Fraud and Impersonation related
Taxonomy
Sources
- 'I was heartbroken': Two Canadians lose $2.3 million to crypto scams
- W5 investigates cryptocurrency scams targeting Canadians
- Two Canadians lose $2.3 million to crypto scams
- Canadians lost $103 million to deepfake crypto scams in 2025
AIID: Incident #1325
Changelog
| Version | Date | Change |
|---|---|---|
| v1 | Mar 8, 2026 | Initial publication based on AIID cross-reference scan |