NASSAU, Bahamas, (CMC) – The Central Bank of The Bahamas (CBTB) is warning the public against falling victim to fake internet advertisements, videos, and social media posts impersonating the bank’s officials regarding investment opportunities being offered by the financial institution.

The CBTB said that links associated with these posts should not be clicked and that with the prevalent use of artificial intelligence (AI), the public is encouraged to beware of “deepfakes”. It described “deepfakes” as “fake, AI-generated or manipulated, images, videos and audio recordings impersonating reputable individuals, or portraying activities that did not take place.

Members of the public should always be skeptical and avoid giving out personal information to individuals or companies they do not know”.

The bank is also urging people to refrain from making payments to unknown individuals.

“Except for purchases of Bahamas Government bonds, savings bonds and treasury bills, the central bank does not offer loans, banking or any other private investment services to the general public.

“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.”

It said that all central bank communications can be verified by navigating to its 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,” the CBTB added.