AIB chief Colin Hunt, Patrick Kielty, and Claire Byrne images used in online scam ads

One of the online scam adverts running on X, with a computer generated image of Patrick Kiely, Claire Byrne, and Colin Hunt.

Online adverts are using images of AIB chief executive Colin Hunt along with The Late Late Show presenter Patrick Kielty and broadcaster Claire Byrne in scams to lure in Irish social media users.

Ads featuring Mr Hunt have been widespread across the X platform in recent days, with links leading to websites promoting unregistered financial products. Some of the AI-generated ads show Mr Hunt in conversation with Mr Kielty and Ms Byrne while others purport to show the bank chief executive in heated debate during an interview. All of the images are computer generated. 

Fraudsters are increasingly using social engineering to trick people into transferring money or sharing personal details. The ads come on the back of research by the Banking & Payments Federation of Ireland which found 85% of Irish adults receive scam calls, texts, or emails at least once a month. 

Responding to the latest spate of ads, AIB urged customers to remain "vigilant" to scammers.   

"Criminals are increasingly leveraging sponsored and targeted advertisements on social media platforms, fake news articles, and cloned websites and AI-generated content and false endorsements. This content creates convincing investment opportunities that can appear genuine. That’s why people should always Wait a Sec and Double Check. In many cases, these scams are highly sophisticated and are designed to build trust over time, encouraging victims to make repeated payments," said an AIB spokesperson.

"AIB is urging customers to remain vigilant when engaging with any investment opportunity, particularly those encountered online or via social media."

In February, analysis from online bank Revolut reported that Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and other social media platforms earned more than €36m from scam ads targeting Irish users last year. The research claimed one in 10 ads on social media used in Ireland was fraudulent.

AIB reiterated the plea for caution when encountering online or social media financial adverts. "We strongly encourage customers to take time to verify any investment opportunity and seek independent advice before transferring funds - if an investment opportunity seems too good to be true, it likely is. Customers often only realise they have been targeted by a scam when they attempt to withdraw funds and encounter delays, excuses, or are unable to access their supposed investment at all.

"Banks alone cannot be the solution to this increasingly prevalent problem. We work closely with industry stakeholders including social media companies, telecommunications providers, the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI), and the gardaí to detect and report fraud trends.”