The Bank of England has warned people not to fall for AI-generated scams after a deepfake video of Nigel Farage fighting the bank went viral.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said AI-generated content related to the central bank was being spread and urged people to be “vigilant”.
He made the comments after a video appeared on social media platform X of Bailey fighting with the British Reform Party leader on the set of BBC One’s Question Time.
The video shows the men being separated by officers, and also shows Farage grappling with Bailey while holding a gun.
Mr Bailey urged the public to report the video so it can be removed.
“Unfortunately, we are seeing an increase in fake advertising purporting to be from the Bank of England and other central banks,” he said.
“These scams are designed to criminally exploit ordinary people online, especially the vulnerable. I urge everyone to remain vigilant and report these scams so authorities can more effectively eradicate these digital scams and permanently eliminate the scammers responsible for true online scourges.”
Mr Farage commented on the AI post on the X platform on Monday, saying he did not intend to attack Ms Bailey, despite disagreeing with her position on the economy.
“You may have seen some strange AI videos on this platform today,” Farage wrote. “Andrew Bailey and I have our differences, but I’m not going to argue that much.”
The Bank has raised concerns about posts on Reform UK and social media platforms.
As technology becomes more sophisticated, scams that use AI to impersonate celebrities are on the rise, and AI videos are especially adept at portraying people realistically. British personal finance expert Martin Lewis, a popular target of fraudulent posts, has warned of the “wild west” of AI-powered online fraud.
The UK’s Online Safety Act includes provisions that require technology platforms to tackle fraudulent advertising. However, these mandates will not take effect until next year.
Mr. X has been approached for comment. The platform, owned by Elon Musk, explicitly prohibits impersonating individuals for the purpose of “deceiving others.”
X’s sister company xAI has been embroiled in controversy this year after its Grok tool was used by members of the public to strip images of women and girls, and the incident is being investigated by Britain’s communications regulator Ofcom.
