By PAUL O’DONOGHUE, Senior Correspondent
SIMON Harris, Ireland’s Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) has revealed how he was impersonated in a deepfake scam video.
Speaking at the European Anti-Financial Crime Summit (EAFCS) 2026 in Dublin, he said that the technology is being used to enable financial crime.
“In recent months, a deepfake video circulated online falsely portraying me endorsing investment products that had no basis in reality,” he said.
“It was entirely fabricated, but highly convincing.
“And that is precisely the point — these scams are becoming more sophisticated, more scalable, and more difficult for people to identify.”
A deepfake is AI-generated synthetic media which portrays people or events which never actually happened. Deepfake media is increasingly being used for fraud, such as to falsely suggest that celebrities endorse scam investments.
Mr Harris, who is also Ireland’s Finance Minister, said the incident showed “why public awareness, regulatory vigilance and strong cooperation between industry and law enforcement has never been more important”.
He also warned that Irish officials have “seen firsthand how AI-powered fraud has grown exponentially”.
“The Central Bank of Ireland has already warned about the rapidly changing fraud landscape,” he said.
“[This includes] the increasing use of artificial intelligence to create highly convincing scams targeting consumers.
“the evolution of financial crime now fundamentally threatens the integrity of the financial system.”
However, he added that AI also allows officials “to detect risk with greater precision than ever before”.
“Financial crime is no longer a niche compliance issue,” he said.
“It is a central challenge for economic integrity, public trust, national security and the credibility of the European project itself.”
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