Matt ‘Shirvo’ Shirvington has issued an impassioned warning to viewers not to click on convincing financial scams using a fake interview between him and Sam Kerr.
The Sunrise presenter revealed on Monday that scammers concocted a fake interview between him and the Matilda star to trick people into signing up to a fraudulent investment platform.
‘Don’t click on the links. That’s the only advice I can give you,” Shirvo told viewers.
“As often as you ask the social media companies to report it and take it down, it pops up somewhere else.”
He added: ‘Don’t do it. You’ll lose your money.’
Sunrise presenter Matt Shirvington revealed on Monday that scammers have fabricated a fake interview between him and Mathilda’s star Sam Kerr to try to trick people into signing up to a fraudulent investment platform (pictured is the fake interview)
Sunrise consumer correspondent Shaun White revealed the channel had received dozens of emails from concerned viewers targeted by the scam, with some losing up to $10,000.
“The whole premise here was that they (the scammers) made it up to be a segment on Sunrise where you (and Sam Kerr) were arguing about how to make money through investment platforms,” White explained.
“But the whole premise here was to create confidence, using your faces, that this was real. And then let people click on a link to this online trading platform and get their financial information from there.”
White warned people not to follow any investment advice on social media.
“Once they get that report done, they charge about $250 through a credit card and then they start making a small investment to build that trust,” he said.
Sunrise consumer correspondent Shaun White (pictured) revealed the channel had received dozens of emails from concerned viewers targeted by the scam, with some losing up to $10,000.
“Then they might make you download a third-party platform and once that’s done, you’re in trouble there because they have access to you.
“They might ask you for the password to your online dashboard, and then they might even show you fake winnings, and then they really got you.”
Daily Mail Australia discovered a fake news article about the fabricated interview between Shirvo and Kerr that was used to advertise a fraudulent investment platform called Immediate Cipro 2.0.
The National Anti-Scam Center warned consumers last month about these types of fake news articles and deepfake videos from public figures trying to convince people to sign up with fraudulent investment platforms.
Last year, Australians reported losing more than $8 million to scams through online investment platforms.
Sunrise presenter Matt Shirvington warned users not to take investment advice from social media (pictured with Nat Barr)
“We urge Australians to take their time and do their research before pursuing any investment opportunity – especially those featured on social media,” said Catriona Lowe, deputy chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
“Scammers are creating fake news articles and deepfake videos to convince people that celebrities and well-known public figures are making huge sums of money using online investment platforms, when in fact it is a scam.”
Ms Lowe said the ACCC was aware of an Australian man who lost $80,000 in cryptocurrency after clicking a link on a deepfake Elon Musk video on social media and entering his details.
“He was given an account manager and an online dashboard where he could see that his investment would deliver huge returns,” Ms Lowe added.
“But when he tried to withdraw the money, he was unable to access his account.”
Reports to Scamwatch indicate that the most prolific scam in online investment trading platforms occurs under the brand name ‘Quantum AI’.
Others include ‘Immediate Edge’, ‘Immediate Connect’, ‘Immediate X3’ and ‘Quantum Trade Wave’.