SCAMMERS took scamming to another level in July with an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated video of Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) Governor Ariff Ali promoting a get-rich-quick scheme on an investment platform that promised a return of $18,000 a month from an investment of “just $500”.
“$18,000 per month…that’s exactly how much you can earn starting with just $550,” the AI-generated Mr Ali said in the video.
“Yes it’s real. And it’s already happening all across the country every day. The platform from the Reserve Bank of Fiji is breaking records with over 3000 new users signing up daily. And it’s no surprise. Who wouldn’t want to earn $18,000 a month?”
In no time, the video, circulated widely on social media, caught the attention of Jone Paula (not his real name), who couldn’t contain his excitement.
For weeks, he had been thinking of extending the house.
Not only was that now within reach, there would also be enough to buy new furniture, get new beds for the children and clear off his very expensive credit line with the money lender.
That night, his mind shifted to overdrive thinking of all the things he would do with $18,000.
The sugar rush from what he imagined was the sweetest deal anyone could offer kept him awake until the early hours of the morning.
“It was too good to be true,” Mr Paula shared with this newspaper afterwards.
“I went to the money lender to borrow $500. I mean, what’s $500 more when you’re getting $18,000 after a month.”
“So you can imagine how disappointed I was when I called RBF to ask how to become part of the scheme only to be told that it was a scam.
“Suddenly, all my plans vanished into thin air.
“It was like somebody punched me in the face. I found it so hard to believe that it was a scam. I almost fought with them. I refused to believe it,” Mr Paula said.
This is the thing about scams.
Scammers would promise you the world for a small fee.
You part with your small fee and you can wait forever for the world.
If it’s too good to be true, it’s highly likely not legit.
“People need to double check as they could lose hard earned money,” the ‘real’ Mr Ali cautioned when The Fiji Times contacted him through Viber last month, just as the video was cooking up a storm in Fiji.
“This is AI-generated. I am in Samoa. This is not true,” he said, shocked at what he was seeing himself saying.
On the same day, RBF issued a public statement, warning the public that it will not be responsible for any transactions or decisions undertaken based on the contents of the video.
“The Reserve Bank of Fiji wishes to advise that a video currently circulating on various digital platforms falsely portrays the RBF Governor,” RBF stated.
“The video appears to have been generated using artificial intelligence (AI) and is spreading misleading information.
“The statements made in the video are entirely fabricated. RBF does not have an investment platform for the public that trades automatically.
“We urge the public to rely on verified sources for accurate information, refrain from sharing the video and report the content to the relevant platform host.”
Also on the same day, Fiji Television Ltd, parent company of Fiji One News, which was portrayed to have been reporting the news, also issued a statement condemning “the unauthorised and unethical use of our brand and the likeness and voice of our presenter in an attempt to mislead the public.”
“This video was not produced, authorised or endorsed by Fiji TV and appears to have been created using artificial intelligence or deep fake technology without the knowledge or consent of Fiji Television Ltd,” it stated.
“Fiji TV is treating this matter with utmost seriousness. We are working with the Reserve Bank of Fiji and will work with law enforcement agencies and relevant digital platforms to have the video removed and to identify the origin and intent behind its creation and distribution.”
In a separate statement later that week, the Fijian Competition and Consumers Commission (FCCC) weighed in on the matter.
“This is a dangerous misuse of technology that preys on people’s hopes and trust,” FCCC chief executive officer Senikavika Jiuta said, strongly condemning “the use of any deceptive AI tools used to manipulate public trust.”
“We are urging all Fijians to be cautious and to avoid engaging with or sharing such content. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
But people like Mr Paula had already swallowed – hook, line, sinker. And baying at the door, forcing RBF to intensify its campaign to cut the lies and deceit down to size, if not obliterate them completely, as false hope had spread like wildfire across the land.
“Yes, there were numerous queries received by the RBF either through its formal channels of communication or through RBF employees, with some members of the public visiting the RBF Office, enquiring about how to join the scheme referred to in the video,” RBF’s acting deputy Governor Vilimaina Dakai told this newspaper yesterday.
“The RBF noted that it was initially a video only, however in the last week of August, we observed that the impact of the video has escalated, whereby links were available on fraudulent websites enabling people to register interest.
“We are aware that following registration on the website, members of public who provided phone contacts may have received phone calls from the scammers.
“Hence, the RBF updated its public notice, that was issued last week and further issue a Press Release reiterating its warning to the public.
“The RBF has also taken a further step to report all the Facebook pages that were circulating the video,” Ms Dakai said.
While this is the first AI-generated video of its kind to impersonate a senior Government official in Fiji, impersonation of highranking officials using AI-generated videos is currently on the rise worldwide.
As Mr Ali’s “get rich quick” video was making the rounds in Fiji, US news service CNN was reporting that two top senior figures in the US government — Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the White House chief of staff — had been impersonated in recent weeks using artificial intelligence.
For public figures whose voices are everywhere online, the cloning process is even simpler, Steve Grobman, chief technology officer at cybersecurity firm McAfee told CNN.
“What’s most concerning is that with AI-powered clones, seeing – or hearing – is no longer believing, and even trained professionals can be fooled, especially when a familiar voice makes an urgent request,” Mr Grobman told CNN.
“It’s also why we need smarter tools to help people tell what’s real and what’s not. We can’t rely on our own instincts anymore.”
As recently as May, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a warning about an ongoing campaign using AI to impersonate senior US officials through voice and text messages.
“Since April 2025, malicious actors have impersonated senior US officials to target individuals, many of whom are current or former senior US federal or state government officials and their contacts. If you receive a message claiming to be from a senior US official, do not assume it is authentic,” FBI warned.
In the Pacific, a similar get-rich-quick scam is also currently making the rounds in Papua New Guinea and has forced its central bank to issue a public advisory on Monday this week, cautioning Papua New Guineans not to fall for it.
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Note: This article was first published under the headline: Fake AI video spreads – Central bank renews call for vigilance in Page 14 of the print version of The Fiji Times dated Thursday, September 04, 2025
