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Press Release

Continued Public Advisory on Investment Scams

The Central Bank of The Bahamas is continuing to issue advisories, cautioning the public to avoid falling victim to fake internet ads, videos, and social media posts, impersonating the Central Bank’s officials, including, regarding investment opportunities being offered by the Central Bank of The Bahamas. Links associated with these posts should not be clicked. Variants of the social media ads, which link to fraudulent websites, promise to provide exorbitant monthly incomes to individuals who make an investment of a few hundred dollars with the Central Bank. These ads are fake, and are intended to scam persons out of moneys which would unlikely be recovered.

Members of the public should be beware of these “deepfakes,” which are artificial intelligence-generated or manipulated, images, videos and audio recordings. These videos, which impersonate the Governor of the Central Bank and other reputable individuals, portray activities that did not take place.

Members of the public should always be skeptical and avoid giving out personal information to unknown individuals or companies. They should not communicate with such individuals or companies, and refrain from making payments of any form in exchange for promises of generous income or other returns.

Except for purchases of Bahamas Government bonds, savings bonds and treasury bills, which pay modest rates of returns, the Central Bank does not offer any other investment or product to the general public.

Further, the Central Bank does not charge any fees, or request any deposit for any employment opportunity.

Legitimate payments to the Central Bank can only take place via local Commercial Banks, and only through the secure channels which each Commercial Bank is able to verify. The links provided on social media and other platforms should never be used to get to Commercial Bank websites.

All Central Bank communications can be verified by navigating to the Bank’s website or official social media pages.

The public is encouraged to report suspected attempts at fraud and scams to the Royal Bahamas Police Force, and to flag and report these on the social media platforms on which they are detected.

1. Tips on Identifying Deepfakes

1. Look for visual inconsistencies: Pay close attention to inconsistencies such as the unrealistic blinking or eye movement, misaligned lips and mouth with audio and unnatural lighting that emphasises facial and bodily flaws.
2. Watch for audio-visual mismatch or voice and lip sync discrepancies: Keep an eye out for any mismatched audio and pay particular attention to any odd speech tones or inconsistencies throughout the video. Keep an ear out for odd pauses and background sounds.
3. Closely inspect the background of videos for movement anomalies: Examine the video’s background and quality. Deepfakes frequently have flickering backgrounds or may appear distorted.
4. Look for contextual clues: A suspicious sign that a narrative is a deepfake is if it seems strange, has contradicting information, or the narrative is "too good to be true”. Confirm the material though independent, credible sources like official websites or direct calls to the institutions being portrayed. Always fact check.

||.General Tips on Identifying Scams

• Unexpected calls or texts
• Use of a sense of urgency to pressure you to act fast
• Misspelled words or errors in grammar
• Avoidance of face-to-face interaction
• Offer or deals that are too good to be true
• Promise of quick and easy access to money
• Requests for payment in unusual ways

|||.What do you do when you detect a scam?

Report it on the online platform where it was viewed and contact local law enforcement below:

• Commercial Crimes Unit, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Telephone: 242-502-9991/2
• The Financial Crimes Unit, Telephone: 242-356-6019/6025 or
• Your nearest police station