‘PM Told Me to Invest’: Malta Hit by Deep-Fake Crypto Scam Using Fake Robert Abela Videos

# “PM Abela Told Me to Invest”: Dozens Fall for Deep-Fake Crypto Scam Sweeping the Islands

Valletta pensioner Carmenu Pace, 71, thought he was watching a live Facebook interview last Tuesday evening. The video showed Prime Minister Robert Abela seated in the familiar Ħamrun studio of ONE Radio, urging viewers to “seize the Malta Blockchain Summit opportunity” by depositing €250 into a trading app that would “triple your money in 72 hours”. The voice, the dimpled smile, even the Maltese flag pin on the lapel looked flawless. Within minutes Pace had keyed in his card details. The next morning his savings account was €12,000 lighter.

He is one of at least 42 Maltese residents who have filed fraud reports in the past fortnight after falling for an elaborate deep-fake campaign that hijacks the likeness of Abela, Opposition leader Bernard Grech and TV personalities Ivan & Josette to promote bogus crypto platforms. Total losses so far exceed €420,000, police told *Hot Malta*, with victims ranging from university students in Msida to retired dockworkers in Birżebbuġa. Investigators believe the gang is operating from call-centres in Eastern Europe, geo-targeting Facebook pages popular with Maltese over-50s—precisely the cohort that trusts a politician’s word before reading the fine print.

## A Question of Trust

In a country where 98 % of adults use Facebook daily and political leaders still stop for selfies at band club feasts, the scam’s genius lies in weaponising Malta’s uniquely intimate political culture. “We’re used to seeing our MPs at the grocer or the village festa,” explains sociologist Dr. Marie-Gabrielle Azzopardi. “That physical familiarity blurs the line between flesh-and-blood politician and online avatar, making deep-fakes more believable here than, say, in Paris or Berlin.”

The fraudsters exploit another local trait: the lingering perception that quick windfalls are possible on the back of insider information. From the 1970s “timeshare rushes” in St. Julian’s to the 2017 bitcoin cafés that mushroomed in Sliema, get-rich-quick schemes have long been woven into Malta’s economic folklore. “My father always said, ‘Opportunity knocks once, like the Gozo ferry’,” sighs Pace, echoing a maxim many islanders still repeat.

## Community Fallout

At the Birkirkara parish centre, Fr. Joe Borg has started dedicating part of his Saturday catechism class to cyber-safety after three parishioners confessed they had borrowed from loan sharks to top up the fake trading app. “One woman wept because she had promised her grandson a Confirmation party at the village club. The money vanished overnight,” he says. Local band clubs—historically the social glue of Maltese communities—report dwindling donations as older members tighten purse strings to recoup losses.

The scam is also stoking political tensions. Whatsapp groups have lit up with partisan finger-pointing: Labour supporters claim “Nationalist hackers” want to tarnish Abela, while PN voters argue the clips prove “Labour’s obsession with media manipulation has backfired”. In reality, both parties are victims; deep-fake Grech videos appeared on a separate portal promising “instant EU citizenship” for €500.

## What Authorities Are Doing

Cyber-Crime Unit inspector Kurt Zahra says his team has secured takedown orders for 18 fake ads and frozen three Maltese bank accounts used as money-mules, but admits the core perpetrators are “likely beyond EU jurisdiction”. The Malta Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit has issued red-flag notices to all local banks, while the Malta Digital Innovation Authority is rushing a public-service campaign featuring the real PM and AI experts explaining how to spot synthetic media.

Meanwhile, Facebook’s Dublin office told *Hot Malta* it has removed “tens of thousands” of cloned Maltese pages this month and introduced stricter verification for ads mentioning politicians. Yet new links keep popping up faster than festa fireworks.

## Street-Level Advice

At the University of Malta’s AI lab, Prof. Alexiei Dingli demonstrates how the scam video was stitched together using freely available software and five minutes of press-conference footage. His advice: “Pause, screenshot, zoom. If the mouth movements look too perfect or the collar flickers, it’s fake. And remember—no PM will ever pitch crypto over Facebook Live.”

Back in Valletta, Carmenu Pace has pinned a handwritten note above his desk: “Il-parolata m’għandhiex prezz” (Talk is cheap). He hopes others will learn from his pain. “In Malta we trust our leaders like family,” he says, eyes welling up. “But even family can be impersonated.”

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### CONCLUSION
The deep-fake scandal is more than a technological cautionary tale; it is a mirror held up to Malta’s tight-knit society, where proximity to power has always bred familiarity—and, occasionally, gullibility. As the islands grapple with synthetic media, the true challenge is not just sharper algorithms but reinforcing critical thinking without eroding the communal trust that makes Malta, well, Malta. Until then, the safest investment might be the oldest: asking your neighbour across the balcony whether the Prime Minister really told you to bet your life savings on a smartphone app. Chances are, he didn’t.