Overview
- The 2025 results draw on an August online survey of 8,600 adults across Australia, France, Germany, India, Japan, the UK and the US.
- India’s Top 10 targets are Shah Rukh Khan, Alia Bhatt, Elon Musk, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Cristiano Ronaldo, MrBeast, Lionel Messi, Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian and members of BTS.
- Scammers deploy AI-made images and audio to sell bogus endorsements and giveaways, routing users to phishing pages, malware and other frauds.
- McAfee says convincing audio deepfakes can be produced from about three seconds of voice, lowering the barrier for impersonation.
- High usage of WhatsApp, YouTube and Instagram and higher click rates among younger adults help the scams spread quickly in India.