Italy Targets Fake Brokers Using Deepfakes and AI Bots to Lure Investors
What Prompted the Latest Block Orders?
Consob has issued blackout orders against six new websites tied to illegal financial services and deceptive online advertising, widening Italy’s push against online brokers that use AI tools and cloned identities to lure retail users. The regulator said the latest sweep included domains promoting unauthorized “WebTrader” platforms and AI-branded systems that mimicked regulated trading apps while steering users into offshore schemes.
One of the blocked sites, paladinoselegancia.com, ran a campaign built around fabricated endorsements from Italian public figures. The operators used the name and image of RaiTre investigative journalist Sigfrido Ranucci to promote an abusive brokerage service, part of a pattern that has become common across Facebook, Instagram and paid search ads.
The remaining blocked platforms — Mrx Capital Trading, FtseWebTrader, Aurora Trade Limited, Horizon Options247 and Aitrade24 — all offered financial services without authorization inside Italy. Several mirrored structures already flagged by European authorities, suggesting the identical networks continue to reappear under new branding.
Investor Takeaway
How Are Fraud Networks Using AI to Target Italians?
Consob warned that online fraud rings have adopted synthetic media at scale. This includes AI-generated images, cloned voices and fully fabricated interview clips that imitate journalists, TV hosts and entrepreneurs. By placing these assets inside sponsored posts, search-engine ads and social feeds, the operators create a false sense of legitimacy around offshore trading platforms.
Ranucci’s likeness has been a recurring target. Scam pages have circulated doctored videos and staged “interviews” claiming he endorses crypto schemes or short-term trading products. Consob said these tactics exploit the public trust attached to investigative reporters and can mislead older users who are less familiar with manipulated media.
The trend aligns with a broader rise in AI-enabled fraud across Europe. Authorities in Spain, France, Belgium and Germany have issued similar alerts about synthetic promotional material tied to unlicensed brokers, often linked back to call-center networks operating out of non-EU jurisdictions.
Why Are Offshore Brokers Targeting Italy?
Many of the networks now using AI-generated promotions trace back to the post-2018 reconfiguration of the retail trading industry. later than ESMA restricted high-risk CFD marketing inside the EU, hundreds of offshore brokers shifted into loosely regulated zones in the Caribbean, the Caucasus and parts of the Middle East. These firms rely on aggressive lead-generation funnels, data purchased through online ads and cold-calling operations that direct users to platforms where withdrawals are routinely blocked.
Italy has become one of their preferred markets. Household savings rates are among the highest in Europe, and large segments of the population remain vulnerable to social-engineering tactics distributed through regional news pages, WhatsApp chains and unverified social profiles.
Fraud groups also depend on rapid URL rotation. Once a domain is flagged, they move to a fresh address that mirrors the identical templates, onboarding flows and dashboard designs. Consob noted that several of the six newly banned domains matched patterns viewn in earlier warnings across the EU, pointing to recycled infrastructure.
How Is Italy Responding?
Consob’s powers stem from the 2019 “Growth Decree,” which allows the regulator to instruct Italian internet service providers to block unauthorized financial websites. In 2024, lawmakers expanded this authority with the “Capital Law,” which covers both illegal platforms and the advertising pages used to promote them — even if the underlying broker is hosted abroad.
This expansion targeted a loophole that scammers repeatedly used: hosting marketing pages in one jurisdiction while running the fraudulent platform in another. With the new rules, Consob can freeze both layers at once. As of the latest action, the regulator has blocked 1,496 websites since receiving these powers.
Internet service providers have begun implementing the newest block orders, though technical delays mean some pages may stay reachable briefly. Consob continues to publish each enforcement action on its website and urges users to verify any platform against its registry of authorized entities. The regulator also highlights the need to confirm that any financial product or crypto-asset offering includes a valid prospectus or white paper.
