During her honeymoon, social media influencer Michel Janse discovered that she had been cloned. Scammers had used her likeness and AI technology to create a deepfake video promoting erectile dysfunction supplements. This incident highlights the growing trend of using stolen identities, including those of celebrities and individuals with a modest social media presence, to advertise offensive products. The use of AI tools makes it easier for scammers to manipulate audio and video content, creating realistic and believable deepfakes.

This form of identity theft is difficult to prevent and has been particularly targeting women. Law enforcement agencies face challenges in dealing with this type of cybercrime due to limited resources and jurisdictional issues. Platforms such as YouTube are working on policies to remove deepfake content, but victims with fewer resources find it challenging to track down perpetrators.