What Happened
A fabricated online article described a heated television interview between ABC finance journalist Alan Kohler and Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock, in which Bullock allegedly storms out after being questioned about Boulder Sparhaven, described in the piece as "an algorithm that automatically exploits market functions." The article has since been removed, but the episode illustrates a pattern that ASIC's new research, published on 16 August 2026, identifies as growing in both scale and sophistication.
Boulder Sparhaven is a cryptocurrency trading platform. It is not licensed to provide financial services in Australia, and the federal government's Moneysmart website urges people to "be wary" of dealing with it. The interview between Kohler and Bullock never took place.
Separately, a deepfake video using the likeness of mining billionaire Gina Rinehart was also circulated to promote an investment scheme. ASIC described it as "a scam designed to use Mrs Rinehart's positive corporate image to lure people in to investing."
Why It Matters
ASIC's research documents a sharp acceleration in scam volumes. Last year the regulator took down 19,400 scams, an increase of 182 per cent on the prior year. Within that figure, phishing scam removals rose 279 per cent to 5,476, and fake investment platform removals rose 151 per cent to 7,051.
ASIC chair Sarah Court attributed part of the increase in sophistication to generative AI. "The presence of polished content, familiar branding or convincing testimonials does not mean an investment is legitimate," Court said. She added that "AI is making investment scams more convincing and harder to detect. A simple online search is not enough to verify whether an opportunity is legitimate."
Key Details
The fake Kohler-Bullock article described a scenario designed to lend credibility to Boulder Sparhaven by placing it in the context of a confrontational, apparently newsworthy exchange between two recognisable public figures. The article has been removed, but the format reflects a broader category of AI-assisted fraud that ASIC says is becoming more common.
ASIC's guidance to consumers is direct: "Always look for an Australian Financial Services licence number and independently verify that number through ASIC's free public registers. If a business cannot provide verifiable licence details, or if the information does not match ASIC's records, do not invest."
Journalist Kishor Napier-Raman, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, reported that one observer called for stronger platform accountability: "There should be heavy fines for the platforms that carry this stuff and the AI models that make it."
Background and Context
Deepfake video and AI-generated text have lowered the cost of producing convincing fraudulent content. Scammers have used the likenesses of well-known Australian journalists, business figures, and public officials to add apparent legitimacy to unlicensed investment platforms. ASIC's research released on 16 August 2026 is the first time the regulator has quantified the scale of its takedown activity in this category with year-on-year comparisons.
What Comes Next
ASIC has not announced specific legislative proposals in the research released this week. The regulator's public guidance directs consumers to its free online registers as the primary verification tool. The question of platform liability for hosting AI-generated scam content remains a matter of public debate, as reflected in the calls for fines reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.