‘I thought it was me’: Gareth Morgan stunned by deepfake scam using his face

Tuesday, 19 August 2025

Former economist and investment manager Gareth Morgan is the latest New Zealander to have his image hijacked in a deepfake scam — with AI-generated videos so convincing that, briefly, even he thought it was him. Paula Penfold reports.

Retired economist and investment manager Gareth Morgan is the latest to have his image used in a deepfake financial scam so convincing “I thought it was me”.

The scam surfaced in the past week on Facebook and Instagram, featuring an AI-created Morgan supposedly saying, “Hi, I’m Gareth Morgan, I’ve managed hundreds of millions and I tell you straight: banks aren’t in the business of growing your wealth, they’re in the business of growing their own.”

The pitch rolls on.

“That’s why fees keep rolling in even when your returns don’t. The smart move? Stop playing their game.”

He, or at least something that looks and sounds exactly like Gareth Morgan, goes on to say he has teamed up with a US investment group to “focus on real opportunities in the US market”.

“No jargon, no sales spin, just proper analysis. If that sounds like you, come join us.”

It appears on a Facebook page titled “Morgan Investing”, using his image.

The AI-generated Morgan is so authentic-looking that for a moment, it almost fooled the real Morgan.

“I tell you what, I thought it was me. It was my voice, which is pretty distinctive, but I was talking a whole lot of crap. And it was only because of the background. I thought, ‘I’ve never seen that building before’.”

Morgan was alerted to the scam first by his daughter and then by many others — “basically everyone who’s known me”.

A text version of the scam is similar.

“Hi, I’m Gareth Morgan,” says a sponsored page on Instagram, “Economist, investor, and founder of Gareth Morgan Investments. Over the past few decades, I’ve managed NZ$650+ million in client funds. One of my best calls? Backing Trade Me early on — before it became New Zealand’s most iconic online marketplace — turning thousands into millions for early investors.”

“When I read it, I went, ‘Oh God, that’s crass,’ sort of like somebody’s super cheap salesman. It was awful.”

Morgan is the latest in a long list of recognisable New Zealand faces hijacked to trick people into parting with their money through a “sign up” link.

Morgan’s daughter reported it to Facebook and then so did he, though he’s scathing of that process.

“Because they’re not human, you know, it’s dialogue boxes and crap.”

“Once I found my way through the labyrinth of Facebook admin, I complained. But to be honest with you, I don’t expect anything to come of it.”

He sent Facebook the link to the AI deepfake of him, “and told them that it was rubbish and take it down. But it’s still up”. Sure enough, when he sends it to me several hours later, the link is still working.

So Morgan put up posts on his own Facebook pages to warn that it was a scam.

“Please be aware that there are a series of deepfake posts and videos of me presenting some pretty crass investment advice,” he wrote. “These are the product of some scumbag trying to elicit funds from you so it would be great if you could delete and report them as spam.

“I hope nobody falls victim to the work of such lowlife players on the international web.”

Unfortunately, they already had: people had been in touch with him. “They’ve been ringing me to check if it’s alright to proceed.”

He wants Facebook to do more.

“Obviously, I think they have a responsibility. It’s just like the mainstream press has a responsibility of making sure that what’s spouted forth is the truth. Whereas they don’t take that attitude at all. They say, ‘Oh no, we’re just providing the platform, let it rip. That’s their attitude.”

Last week, in response to scams using my image, a spokesperson for Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said the pages were removed for “violating our policies”.

“Meta doesn’t want scams on our platforms and we are continuing to invest in tools and technology to prevent them. The safety of our users is of utmost importance, and we continue to work with industry, the government and law enforcement to protect New Zealanders from scams.”

Morgan said the Government could be doing more. “You can control them. If enough people say, ‘unless you meet these standards we’re going to actually ban you totally’. That’s the only language they would understand.”

Morgan was not concerned about any reputational damage for himself.

“I’m well retired from that sort of work, I stopped doing that ages ago. And I think anybody who knows me would know that that’s not quite in line with the brand, shall we say.”

Meantime, he urged “buyer beware”.

“You’ve gotta validate anything.”