Derren ‘Des’ Healey took a chance on a promising advert that popped up on Facebook and it destroyed his life.
Two years ago, work was looking “a little bit scarce” for the self-employed kitchen fitter, who had begun searching for ways to earn a bit of extra cash.
Some of his son’s friends had been earning “a couple of hundred quid for doing nothing” through online spread betting, and Des began to wonder whether he might be able to top up his bank account before Christmas by following suit.
It was then that the 59-year-old came across a very convincing Facebook ad, which appeared to feature tech mogul Elon Musk and personal finance whizz, Martin Lewis. Little did Des know at the time that he was looking at an AI simulation of the two celebrities intended to deceive unsuspecting fans.
As explored in tonight’s ITV documentary, Celebrity Scams: Are You At Risk?, scammers are getting increasingly convincing with their methods of hooking in their victims, with the rise of AI meaning they can wear the masks of beloved and trusted household names. There is still a stigma attached to being scammed, but, as Des learned, it can happen to anyone.
Des, who lives in Peace Haven near Brighton, told the Mirror: “I was looking through Facebook one afternoon, and it was then that Elon Musk’s advertisement came on, and he was talking about this cryptocurrency, which is the best platform that he’s ever invented.
“[It said that] people cannot fail, and for a small donation on your credit card of £200, you can reap the rewards. And I’m thinking a couple of hundred quid for Christmas would be perfect.”
As soon as ‘Musk’ finishes speaking, ‘Martin Lewis’ then pops up in the deepfake ad – a famous face that Des, along with countless other people across the UK, admires and trusts.
Des recalled: “[Martin’s] got the big screen behind him paused with Elon’s face, and he’s now addressing the British people, so to speak, saying, ‘Look, I don’t, as you know, normally hype these things up, but this really is a good scheme, and I’d advise people to invest in it’. Well, I love Martin Lewis, and I trust Martin Lewis, so I thought I’d leave my details. It obviously wasn’t those two; it was AI.”
It wasn’t long until a woman got in touch with Des and asked whether he’d like to be put in touch with an ‘experienced financier’ who could talk him through the process – a man who called himself ‘Carl’. Remembering that first call with the scammer he would later come to regard as a “monster”, Des said that ‘Carl’, who got in touch with him within half an hour, pretended to have common ground with him in a vindictive bid to earn his trust.
Des told us: “He’s speaking with a sort of Eastern European accent, like a Russian sort of accent, but very good English. And to tell you the honest truth, I fell in love with the guy. He was so friendly. He was so approachable. He loved Manchester United, and he knew a lot more about it than I ever would, so there was an interest there straight away.
“I’ve been a single parent since my son was six, and he’s now 30, so my family values are quite strong, and he must have picked up on that because he was also telling me he’s got three kids and his family values are very strong. He’s a multimillionaire already, which prompted me to say, you know, ‘Why are you doing this then?’ And his answer was the bonuses that he gets from his company can’t be ignored. So I took the bait. I used to actually look forward to speaking with him.”
The silver-tongued scammer ended up setting up a bank account for Des with the e-money firm Revolut and taking a £1,000 investment. This was returned, more or less, with a slightly lower sum of £990 dropped back into Des’s account. He was then continually pressured into sending over more money under the false promise that he would see a return on his investment.
Continuing to place his trust in someone who he believed knew the ropes, Des ultimately ended up taking out four loans with four different companies, adding up to £70,000. By the time he realised he’d been conned, his debts totalled an eye-watering £76,000.
Thankfully, Des managed to get two of the loans cancelled, but he still owes £20,000, which, with snowballing interest, adds up to approximately £27,000. He’s yet to pay a penny of it, declaring: “I’ll go bankrupt before I pay any money towards it.”
Having once enjoyed an excellent credit score, Des’ rating has been vastly “diminished”. His livelihood has also been impacted, and he’s been left to survive on Universal Credit.
Sadly, his torment isn’t over. Des has been served a Section 21 on the rental property that has been his home for 18 years, with the owners wanting to sell up. The deadline was March 9 – last Sunday – and Des knows he can’t “bury his head in the sand” as his financial nightmare continues.
While Des has been left grappling to piece his life back together, his scammers have yet to be brought to justice. When Des attempted to confront ‘Carl’ demanded access to his bank account for two hours, grimly warning it was his “only hope”. The sickening conversation was captured in an audio recording, in which the crook told Des, “Nobody in the world can help you”. Finally, as Des noted, he was showing his true self behind the friendly facade.
The strain of the ongoing situation has heavily impacted Des’ mental health, leaving him tearful and struggling to sleep. Des shared: “It’s taken a toll on me. I get very snappy. I’m not really sleeping.
“I’ve been to the doctor’s a couple of times. I’ve actually broken down in tears when I’ve been down there. Everything has got on top of me. I’m bloody 59 years old. That’s what it did to me.”
Des is far from alone. A group of Georgia-based scammers recently used fake Facebook and other social media ads featuring celebrities such as Zoe Ball, Ben Fogle, and Martin Lewis to promote a variety of investment schemes, resulting in British victims losing a combined total of £9 million. Meanwhile, over in France, a woman was scammed out of £700,000 by someone pretending to be Hollywood star Brad Pitt, even leading her to believe they were in a relationship.
Despite the prevalence of such crimes, there’s still not enough awareness. According to research from Starling Bank, almost half (46 per cent) of adults in the UK weren’t even aware that they could be targeted by scams involving AI voice cloning.
Looking forward, Des now hopes his story will help others who find themselves in a similar situation as AI images continue to become more sophisticated and convincing.
On reflection, Des has noted that there was one key tell that he wasn’t looking at the real Elon Musk and Martin Lewis. He explained: “When you go over it, when you really concentrate on it, especially if you can get it on a laptop so you can see more of it, look at the mouth movement.
“The voice was a little bit sketchy for Elon Musk, but you just think, well, he’s in America and it’s just on the video in the studio of Martin Lewis. So you accept the fact that there could be some voice situation in translation, but Martin Lewis’ voice was perfect. But when you watch the mouths of these characters and listen to the words that they’re saying, they don’t completely add up. And that’s what I do if I’m looking at anything now.”
Sarah Lenette, a financial crime specialist at Starling Bank has also shared some top tips on recognising such cons, following alarming research from the bank that just 30 per cent of British adults don’t know what to watch out for in the event of being targeted by AI voice cloning scams. She says: “Focusing on AI voice cloning scams, think about the tone with which the ‘person’ is speaking. Do their voices sound flatter than you would expect a real person to sound? Is there any background noise that might come with a usual voice clip?
“When you’re seeing a photo of a celebrity or another trusted figure, take a look at the little details. For example, are the shadows where you would expect them to be, and do their faces look natural? It sounds silly, but do the people pictured have a normal amount of fingers? If the answer is ‘no’ to any of the above, you’re likely to be looking at a fake image.”
Sarah also remarked that fake images often appear “much glossier” than real photos, while sound can be a dead giveaway when it comes to deepfake vids. She continued: “On a wider level, if you’re seeing a celebrity ‘advertise’ something like an investment scheme, cross-check this against a range of sources. For example, is it something that they are promoting on their verified social media profiles, or have they spoken about it in other reliable places?
“You can also use tools like the Financial Conduct Authority’s Scam Smart page to determine whether an investment opportunity could be a scam, and it’s also worth getting advice from an FCA-regulated financial adviser, particularly if you’re new to investing.”
Since coming forward to share his story, Des has heard from others who’ve been through the same ordeal, including a young mum from Southampton who was conned out of £150,000. He has urged those who find themselves in a similar position to contact Victim Support, a “brilliant” organisation that helps those affected by crime.
Offering encouragement, he continued: “They can’t take the problem away, but they can certainly guide you through the situation and give you information on what you should do in a situation like this.”
Being scammed can take a serious knock on your self-esteem. This was the case for Des, who before the scam had only “thought highly” of himself. Now his confidence has been cruelly shaken. He said: “To have something like that happen to you, you go, ‘You weren’t so bloody clever there, though, Des, were you?’
“Then also you’ve got the element of: ‘You’re a very weak person, you’ve allowed that into your life’, ‘Haha, you got scammed’. You know, all these silly little things and then in the end, you think to yourself, ‘You know what, I don’t feel that I was responsible for it’.”
He’s since appeared on a podcast with the real Martin Lewis, who reassured Des that the nightmare incident was by no means a reflection on him and that some “very influential people” – including well-known MPs – had been targeted.
Des said: “Martin Lewis said to me: ‘Don’t think for a minute that it’s down to you, because it can happen to anybody. These people have got a way of doing things that can draw anybody in at any time. So don’t make it personal to yourself.”
Addressing Mirror readers who fear they may have been scammed, expert Sarah advised: “If you think you’ve been scammed, stop all contact with the potential scammer immediately and do not give them a penny more. As soon as you can, get in touch with your bank and report everything to Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.
“You should also take steps like changing any passwords that may have been shared with the scammers. If you’ve given any personal information away, make sure you keep an eye on your credit file to make sure this information isn’t used to apply for accounts in your name and contact any firms immediately if you don’t recognise any applications or accounts.”
She added: “There’s not just a physical impact on finances, as being scammed can also have an emotional impact. It often leaves victims feeling embarrassed and unsettled, as well as harming their trust in others. If you’ve been scammed, speak to your loved ones or charities such as Victim Support about it.
“This can help you feel better and also increase their awareness of the risks. For example, our research found that nearly half (46 per cent) of UK adults weren’t aware that they could be targeted by AI voice cloning scams, so if you’ve fallen victim to this, you won’t be the first or the last.”
A spokesperson from Meta previously said: “We don’t allow fraudulent activity and work closely with law enforcement to support investigations and keep scammers off our platforms.”
And a spokesperson for Revolut said it was sorry to hear about what had happened to Des, previously telling the BBC: “Revolut works hard and invests heavily to protect our customers as best we can through our fraud prevention technologies, analysing over half a billion transactions a month.”
The Mirror has contacted Meta for further comment.
Victim Support is an independent charity dedicated to supporting people affected by crime and traumatic incidents in England and Wales. They provide free confidential support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – regardless of whether they have reported the crime to the police or when it occurred. You can contact them via their website www.victimsupport.org.uk or helpline on 0808 1689 111
You can watch Celebrity Scams: Are You At Risk? tonight (March 13) at 8:30 pm on ITV1.
Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com
