Former Sri Lanka cricket captain Mahela Jayawardene has issued a warning about fraudulent advertisements circulating on social media using his image.
He has urged the public not to fall for such scams, saying that the advertisements, which have been faked using artificial intelligence to promote various financial schemes, are completely fake and that they are completely fake.
“Please don’t believe these things. I am not involved in any investment or financial promotion. These videos were created using AI. These are things that people do to mislead,” Jayawardene said.
Mahela Jayawardene said that the scammers have used AI-generated visual and voice cloning to closely mimic his appearance and voice.
This makes the content seem authentic.
He warned that the videos have been created to trick people into investing money in fraudulent financial schemes.
Mahela Jayawardene is the latest Sri Lankan sportsperson to be targeted in such scams.
Former Sri Lanka captains Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya had previously issued similar warnings after similar AI-generated videos were used to promote fake financial investments.
Authorities and cybersecurity experts advise the public to look out for the following signs to identify AI-generated scam content.
- Promises of unusually high returns
- Pressure to invest quickly or ‘act immediately’ messages
- Requests for personal, banking or OTP details
- Links to unofficial websites or private messaging apps
- Videos featuring celebrities without verification from official sources
- Lip-syncing issues, unnatural facial movements or different voice tones in the videos
- Claims not reported by verified news outlets
The public is urged to verify information through official channels, avoid clicking on suspicious links and report such content to social media platforms and authorities.
English 
Sinhala