‘Very disturbing’: Deepfake videos appear to target Canadian immigrants for thousands of dollars

Artificially generated videos of a Toronto-based lawyer asking for money appear to be just one way some try to exploit newcomers to Canada during a time of confusion around new immigration rules.

Two videos sent to immigration lawyer Max Chaudhary appear to be him directly addressing an individual on a first-name basis and even naming his fiance. The problem is that what he’s watching is actually a deepfake video created by artificial intelligence (AI).

“This is really jarring because you like to have a sense of who you are, but it’s being commandeered for illegal purposes,” said Chaudhary in an interview with CTV News Saturday.

Chaudhary found out about the videos after someone called his law firm’s office asking when he could send Chaudhary the $7,000 they had been discussing over Whatsapp, but the individual over the phone quickly realized that whoever he had been messaging was not Chaudhary, despite them providing multiple videos seemingly depicting the Toronto lawyer in the chat.

“Out of the blue, somebody is saying: ‘How do I send this $7,000,” said Chaudhary. “[Then,] they sent me the videos, and I said: ‘Yes, that’s definitely not me.’

“That strikes me as a venue or method to target more vulnerable people,” he said.

Chaudhary says he fears that other new or prospective immigrants may have been sent deepfake videos of him over Whatsapp — videos asking vulnerable and sometimes desperate people for money in exchange for legal services he never provided.

“The fear is that it could be tens or dozens of people, at least in the immigration sphere,” said Chaudhary. “It’s very disturbing. You feel this misrepresentation, almost like your identity is altered for some nefarious purpose.”

“Anybody who we could see as vulnerable, gullible or in an urgent position might be more susceptible to bite the bait on this sort of technology,” said Dan Fagnella, head of Emerj Artificial Intelligence Research in Boston, Mass., to CTV News Saturday.

New federal immigration policies that shrink permanent-resident targets and reduce the number of work and study permits issued have caused a climate of confusion and desperation that allows newcomers to fall prey to scams, according to migrant advocacy groups.

“When people are desperate, when we are seeing the federal government changing the rules so often that it’s hard to separate truth from lies, then I think a lot of people might believe it,” said Syed Hussan with Migrant Workers Alliance for Change in a Saturday interview.

Earlier this year, the federal government announced it would reduce its permanent-resident targets by 20 per cent in 2025, while also reducing the number of study permits for international students by 10 per cent next year.

Migrant advocacy groups have previously described the move as “changing the rules halfway through the game” and creating a wave of confusion and uncertainty for newcomers.

“People are looking to just make sense of this, and they’re going to be preyed upon,” added Hussan.

Migrant advocacy groups warn to never send money to immigration lawyers until you’ve fully received the legal services.

“Definitely don’t give any money to anyone until they’ve shown you that they are going to be effective — until they’ve shown you the actual proof of their work,” said Hussan.

“Double-check and triple-check the information, talk to a migrant’s organization, get as much correct information as you can,” he added. “It’s very likely that even immigration lawyers and consultants don’t have the right information, because changes are happening very quickly.”

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) told CTV News in a statement Saturday that it “urges applicants to use the official Departmental website to obtain information about its programs in order to avoid becoming victims of fraud. There is also a wide variety of resources available on IRCC’s website on how to detect, prevent and report fraud.”