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If you are a fan of singer Diljit Dosanjh, actor Alia Bhatt or cricketer Virat Kohli, beware of online links about them. They are among 10 celebrities whose names generate the “riskiest” online results, according to a report.
Cybercriminals exploit the names of the most popular people to create malicious sites and scams, said online protection company McAfee’s annual ‘Celebrity Hacker Hot List 2024’. The scams often lead to data breaches, financial losses and personal information theft.
Orhan Awatramani, also known as Orry, tops the list after his sudden popularity, association with other celebrities and surge in content have made his name an appealing one for cybercriminals. Such criminals take advantage of the “flood of unverified information” about new or upcoming public figures to lure consumers searching for updates, said the report.
Next on the list is Dosanjh, whose upcoming 'Dil-Luminati' concert tour has been plagued with concerns about ticketing scams. Large-scale celebrity events are targeted by cybercriminals due to fan interest and a surge in search volume, leading to fraudulent ticketing sites, discount or re-sale schemes and phishing scams.
The rise of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and deepfakes have complicated the “cybersecurity landscape”, with many celebrities becoming victims of misinformation, according to the report. Bhatt has been subjected to multiple deepfake incidents, while actors Ranveer Singh and Aamir Khan have been falsely depicted endorsing political parties through election-related deepfakes, said the report.
"AI-generated deepfakes use existing content to manipulate faces, voices, and even actions. While some deepfakes are harmless fun, others can spread misinformation, influence elections, damage reputations, or scam consumers. If something seems too good to be true, it likely is. To protect oneself and loved one's online privacy and identity, it's important to remain vigilant," said Vonny Gamot, McAfee’s head of EMEA.
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Kohli, the cricketer, and actor Shahrukh Khan have appeared in deepfake content promoting betting apps. Scammers exploit fans’ curiosity using tactics like malicious URLs, deceptive messages, and AI-driven image-audio-video scams that result in financial losses and damaging the reputation of and consumer trust in impacted celebrities.
Earlier this year, a McAfee survey found that 80 per cent of Indians are more concerned about deepfakes than a year ago, with 64 per cent stating that AI has made it more difficult to spot online scams. Almost 75 per cent of Indians reported to have seen deepfake content, 38 per cent have encountered a deepfake scam and 18 per cent have been a victim. Among those affected by deepfake scams, 57 per cent mistook a celebrity video, image, or recording for authentic, with 31 per cent suffering financial loss as a result. Of those who fell prey to voice cloning or other deepfake/AI scams, 64 per cent lost money. Of this lot, 43 per cent lost more than Rs 40,000 and 10 per cent more than Rs 800,000.
McAfee said the list helps consumers understand how AI scams and deepfakes work and how they can protect themselves online. McAfee’s Threat Research Labs Team created the list by identifying high-profile celebrities most frequently used in malicious activities and deepfake scams. These scams often generate unsafe search results that could lead consumers to unknowingly install malware and jeopardise their data, privacy and identity.
The study was conducted by McAfee threat intelligence researchers to determine the number of risky sites and amount of misleading content generated by searching a celebrity name with commonly used terms. A risk score was calculated for each celebrity.
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