A Victorian couple have lost their life savings after falling for a deepfake video of Eddie McGuire promoting a seemingly irresistible investment opportunity.
John and Gail Young had put aside $500,000 of savings and superannuation to build their dream retirement home in the countryside near Ballarat.
But it all came crashing down after they clicked on a phoney Google ad and began speaking to who they thought was a London-based broker.
'Eddie is such a respected person in our society and a person whom I look up to, I phoned the number that he had recommended,' Mr Young told the Herald Sun.
The couple had already bought a parcel of land in Ballarat where Mr Young intended to retire after he ended a four decade-long teaching career in 2024.
But they wanted bit of extra money to build a detached garage for their new house.
'I invested the money that I had put aside for our build plus my superannuation in the hands of a broker in London who was going to invest our funds with a return in December,' MrYoung told the publication.
The 71-year-old initially invested $20,000 which 'snowballed' to half a million dollars.
But when Mr Young asked for his money back, the 'London broker' stopped responding and their money vanished into the wind.
'This happens to real people, real Aussies and at this time of my life when we should be reaping the benefits it's just hard to take,' he said.
He said Gail has been in tears for weeks and their three sons were devastated.
The couple have only a concrete slab to show
The real Eddie McGuire has gone on a traditional media blitz in recent days, appearing on television to warn people of the scam.
He said that Google 'has more money than anyone' and has a responsibility to prevent scams from reaching vulnerable users.
The TV star, 60, blasted elaborate scammers as disgusting' and 'disgraceful'.
He said his AI-produced voice in the deepfake clip 'had an American twang but sounds more like me the more it goes on'.
In the video, the fake Eddie advised those who clicked on the advertisement would have their 'lives changed' and could earn $1,000 a day.
The real Eddie McGuire (pictured on the set of Millionaire Hot Seat) has gone on a traditional media blitz in recent days, appearing on television to warn people of the scam.
McGuire said he has previously been targeted by similar scams using his likeness and that he had written to Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg but got no response.
'I don't do advertising for these things and aren't on any social platforms, so anything with me in it is completely fraudulent,' he said.
Mr Young said he is floored but he 'is a fighter and will get back up from the canvas'.
According to data from Scamwatch, Australians lost $2billion to online scams in 2024.
This was down 25 per cent from the previous year courtesy of awareness campaigns and crackdowns by telecommunications companies.