Clone, scam, repeat: Inside the sophisticated AI fraud wave targeting Malaysia | Sinar Daily -…
Malaysia faces a surge in sophisticated AI-driven fraud as scammers use deepfake videos and voice cloning to impersonate royalty and public figures
- Incident date
- Jul 2025
- Target
- Raja Permaisuri Agong Raja Zarith Sofiah
Malaysia is currently confronting a rapidly escalating digital fraud crisis fueled by advanced artificial intelligence, with scammers increasingly utilizing voice cloning and deepfake video technology to deceive the public. Authorities report that these synthetic threats have led to billions of ringgit in losses, targeting everyone from private citizens to high-profile national leaders and royalty.
What happened
The sophistication of these scams has reached a point where digital deception now frequently mimics trusted contacts and prominent public figures. On July 10, 2025, the Johor Royal Press Office issued a formal warning after a deepfake video of Raja Permaisuri Agong Raja Zarith Sofiah was discovered circulating on Facebook. The manipulated footage falsely depicted her promoting an investment scheme, a tactic that has become a hallmark of a broader campaign targeting the public.
Beyond impersonating royalty, scammers are leveraging AI to clone the voices of employers, family members, and friends to solicit urgent financial transfers or prepaid PINs. Data from the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department revealed that by 2024, at least 454 fraud cases specifically involved deepfake technology, resulting in RM2.72 million in losses. The scale of the issue is immense; in 2024 alone, Malaysians lost RM2.11 billion to scams, with approximately 85% of victims indicating they were convinced to invest after viewing authentic-looking AI-generated endorsement videos featuring leaders and corporate figures.
In response to the surge, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission has aggressively scaled up enforcement, removing over 98,000 pieces of scam-related content in 2025. Simultaneously, the government is moving to implement an AI Governance Bill to regulate synthetic media and provide a stronger legal framework for prosecution, as current efforts struggle to keep pace with the rapidly evolving nature of AI-enabled identity manipulation.