WIRED reports that deepfake attacks are impersonating pastors and other religious figures in order to scam congregations.
Father Mike Schmitz, a priest who hosts a podcast with over a million followers, warned his listeners in November that AI-generated deepfakes were using his likeness to fraudulently solicit donations.
WIRED found that several of these fake accounts are still active on TikTok, and they appear when a TikTok user searches for Father Schmitz.
Rachel Tobac, CEO of SocialProof Security, told WIRED that these phony videos can be very convincing.
“If you’re on TikTok or Reels, they’ve probably come across your For You page,” Tobac said. “This is somebody who looks to be a priest, who’s wearing all of the garments, who’s standing up on a pulpit or a stage or whatever you’d call it, and they seem to be speaking to their congregation in a very enthusiastic way.”
Similar scams have targeted congregations across the world, exploiting the fact that real religious figures often ask for donations for legitimate causes.
“Pastors and ministers in Birmingham, Alabama, Freeport, New York, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, have warned their followers about AI scams impersonating them in the form of DMs, calls, and deepfakes,” WIRED says.
“Alan Beauchamp, a pastor in the Ozarks, said his Facebook account was hacked, with the hacker posting a fake, possibly AI-generated certificate for cryptocurrency trading with Beauchamp’s name on it and a caption urging his congregants to join him. A megachurch in the Philippines received reports of deepfakes featuring its pastors. An evangelical church in Nebraska issued an AI ‘scammer alert’ on Facebook, and one churchgoer in the comments posted a screenshot of texts purported to be from one of their pastors.”
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