Dressed in a traditional Indonesian black hat and shirt, President Prabowo Subianto appears in an Instagram video, addressing the public and asking how he can assist them following his election last year. "Who hasn't received aid from me? What are your needs right now?" 

In a video clip shared in November, Prabowo appears to be speaking, with his mouth moving and eyes blinking. However, his words are part of a deepfake scam that police uncovered last month. This fraudulent scheme has deceived people across 20 provinces in Indonesia. Victims were instructed to contact a WhatsApp number and pay an "administrative fee" ranging from 250,000 to one million rupiah ($15-$60) in exchange for promised aid that never arrived.

Since last year’s Indonesian election, experts have warned about a surge in deepfake scams, AI-generated audio, images, and videos designed to impersonate real individuals. Victims say these hoaxes are so convincing that many people remain at risk of falling for them.

"People should be more careful. Don't be easily fooled by the lure of prizes," said a 56-year-old oil Aryani who handed over 200,000 rupiahs to scammers after watching a deepfake video of a renowned businessman from Indonesia. "I need money, but instead, I'm asked to send money. They even made video calls with me, as if I were talking directly to them."

During the presidential campaign in Southeast Asia, deepfake technology was widely used to spread both supportive and harmful misinformation about candidates. However, criminals have now started using it for financial scams.

AFP fact-checkers discovered that the account behind a deepfake video of Prabowo had also posted numerous similar videos featuring high-profile figures, including Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, to promote fake financial aid schemes. Authorities arrested a suspect who made 65 million rupiah ($4,000) through the scam, according to Himawan Bayu Aji, director of Indonesia’s National Cyber Crime Unit.

Another person involved in a separate deepfake scam was also detained, though officials did not disclose how much money was obtained. An AFP Fact Check investigation revealed that these fraudulent videos were circulating more widely than just the two accounts identified by the police.

Despite recent arrests, deepfake videos of the president, a well-known former general, continue to circulate on social media. Many of these videos, including dozens on TikTok under the hashtag "Prabowo shares blessings," remain online.

AFP journalists discovered at least 22 TikTok accounts promoting the same fraudulent scheme since Prabowo assumed office in October, with some seemingly exploiting his rise to the presidency. One account, with over 77,000 followers, gained 7.5 million views on a fake video showing Prabowo appearing to distribute financial aid. Another account has thousands of followers and has posted around 100 videos since January, most featuring deepfake clips of the president offering money.

TikTok stated that it had removed one of the deepfake scam videos and the associated account and would continue to take down any content that violated its community guidelines against misleading posts. Meanwhile, Facebook’s parent company, Meta, did not respond to AFP’s request for a comment. AFP and over 100 other fact-checking organisations receive funding from TikTok and Meta to verify social media posts that may contain false information. Aribowo Sasmito, co-founder of the Indonesian fact-checking group Mafindo, said his team discovers new deepfake scams every week due to their rapid spread online.

"We have started to see deepfake videos since last year as AI tools have become more accessible and affordable," Aribowo Sasmito informed AFP.

There has been a noticeable increase in scams using deepfake technology to impersonate well-known figures. Tech billionaire Elon Musk and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are among several celebrities who have been mimicked in recent years to promote fraudulent schemes. Aribowo stated that his fact-checking team is working harder than ever to expose these scams and keep up with the advanced technology fraudsters use.

"We noticed the quality of these videos has improved over time. It has become more difficult to distinguish between fake and real videos," he further said. "The challenge is the volume of these scams."