MADRID, 12 Oct. (CulturaOcio) –
The computer security company McAfee has published its annual list of 10 celebrities whose identities are most used to carry out online scams.
Las images of the actors are being used without permission in scams that sell movie or song downloads, offers on products supposedly endorsed by celebrities, cryptocurrency investments or concert tickets. Sometimes scammers also use deepfake videos of actors to obtain bank account information or install malware on devices.
The list is headed by Scarlett Johanssonwhose names and image were used for different advertisements. The actress is followed by Kylie Jenner; Her name and image were used for social media giveaway scams and fake websites for her cosmetics firm, Kylie Cosmetics.
Third place is occupied by Taylor Swiftwho, in addition to seeing how his image has been used to sell tickets and make false raffles, has also been victim of fake news when Donald Trump shared a fake video in which the singer supposedly showed her support.
The fourth position is for Anya Taylor-Joysince his Twitter/X account was hacked to spread fake news about the Queen’s Gambit sequel. In fifth place is Tom Hankswho has been used to promote “miracle cures and medications,” and after the actor appears on the list Sabrina Carpenter. In the case of the singer, her image has been used to sell fake tickets, as well as to generate images of sexual content.
The image of Sydney Sweeneywhich ranks seventh, has been used for cryptocurrency scams, while, in the case of Blake Livelyit was a scam related to weight loss products. In ninth and tenth place they complete the list Johnny Depp y Addison Rae respectively.
“As cybercriminals use advanced artificial intelligence tools to create more convincing scams, the risks are increasing and celebrity names are the perfect bait for curious consumers“said Abhishek Karnik, head of threat research at McAfee. “That’s why people should remain alert and think twice before clicking. While AI-generated content is not always harmful, It is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish what is real and what is fake“he added.
