Cloned news sites and AI images fuel new wave of trading scams
Criminals are using generative AI to create highly convincing clones of major news websites, funneling readers into fraudulent crypto and equity trading platforms that threaten retail investors and legitimate exchanges.
A sophisticated fraud network is cloning the websites of major news organisations to manufacture fake articles about high-profile figures investing in secret trading platforms. The operation uses generative AI to produce misleading supporting evidence, marking a new level of complexity in financial fraud.
The fabricated articles, distributed via social media feeds, feature the real bylines of journalists and convincing site design. One reader who contacted the Guardian described a replica of the publication’s website as a “very good clone”. The fake reports typically feature unusually long headlines and embed direct links to supposed investment portals.
Fact-checking charity Full Fact found that an image used in a fake article about billionaire Jim Ratcliffe contained a SynthID watermark. This confirms the picture was created using Google’s AI tools rather than being an authentic photograph. Other fake reports have falsely claimed that naturalist David Attenborough and financial campaigner Martin Lewis endorsed specific investment portals.
For market professionals, the scheme represents an escalation in the weaponisation of trusted media brands against retail investors. The articles serve purely as a funnel. Once a reader clicks an embedded link, they are redirected to a cloned trading platform designed to mimic legitimate crypto or equity exchanges.
In one reported case, the destination site was built to replicate the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange. Victims who submit their details on the fake trading site are subsequently contacted by phone by scammers attempting to persuade them to transfer funds. There are no real investments made; the sole purpose is to extract cash.
The tactic poses a direct threat to the reputation of legitimate financial platforms. Nick Percoco, chief security officer at Kraken, warned that criminals clone established brands precisely to exploit that trust. “Criminals clone our brand precisely because it is trusted, then use invented news stories and AI‑generated images to push people toward a copycat site that quietly takes their money,” he said.
Percoco noted that his firm actively monitors for impersonation domains and collaborates with registrars, hosting providers, and law enforcement to dismantle the networks. He stressed that anyone guaranteeing returns using the company's name is operating a fraud.
Media organisations are simultaneously battling the reputational fallout of being used as bait. A spokesperson for the Guardian noted that several trusted media companies are seeing their brands exploited by criminals using fake articles and fabricated imagery. The publisher is an active member of a UK Home Office taskforce exploring cross-industry solutions to combat malicious scam ads.
However, news groups argue they lack the tools to stop the initial distribution. “Social media and advertising platforms have the greater visibility required to detect, block and prevent some of this activity at source and need to do more,” the Guardian spokesperson said.
