THE COUNTRY’S biggest conglomerates have fallen victim to deepfakes with International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) and San Miguel Corp. (SMC) issuing warnings against scams.   

In a media release on Thursday, ICTSI cautioned the public over deepfake videos and audio recordings of ICTSI Chairman Enrique K. Razon, Jr. and other ICTSI executives trying to lure the public to pursue investment opportunities.

The company has denied the claims and reiterated that Mr. Razon and ICTSI have not endorsed such investments.

“The scam content is designed to appear convincing and may include offers that seem legitimate. ICTSI emphasizes that these are not authorized and are intended to mislead viewers,” ICTSI said.

With this, the listed port operator has also encouraged the public to be vigilant and verify content that references that company.  

Deepfakes are artificially generated images, videos, or audio meant to deceive consumers of media. Earlier this month, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) said it is drafting guidelines regulating deepfakes.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), through CICC, has established a national deepfake task force to help develop industry standards for content creation, distribution, and labeling of manipulated media like deepfakes.

Separately, SMC has issued a warning against fake investment advertisements.   

The company urged the public to be cautious of the spread of fake videos and online advertisements falsely using its chairman and chief executive officer Ramon S. Ang.

“Many of these videos appear as paid ads on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms. Some are made to look like real news reports… These scams use advanced technology like deep fakes to mislead people,” SMC said in a media release.

Meanwhile, SMC said it is collaborating with the authorities to trace down the people behind these scams and is looking to pursue legal actions against those responsible for these fake investments. — Ashley Erika O. Jose