A Wairarapa woman who lost more than $300 to scammers wants others to know how easy it is to be sucked into fake advertisements online.
Danielle was sitting in front of the TV one night scrolling through Facebook when she saw an advert for keto weight loss gummies pop up.
The advert, which was a fake, featured photos of Seven Sharp presenter Hilary Barry which appeared to show her endorsing the product.
"So, I clicked on it and it said it was $67 and it was buy three bottles and you got two free. I thought, oh yeah... not bad. So I clicked it and immediately after I clicked to let my card go through, I realised, no that doesn't seem right."
What didn't seem right was the way the transaction went through. Danielle said it didn't have the generic confirmation page that would normally pop up if you bought something.
In a panic, she immediately checked her bank account and saw that $339 had been withdrawn.
"I was like 'oh my God'. I was like 'oh no', I was like, 'I'm pretty sure this isn't legit'," she said.
Danielle immediately Googled the company and came across a scam review page. She contacted her bank but the money had gone and the product never arrived.
"It's not fair for anyone to ever have to go through something like that."
'Scam written all over it'
Online watchdog Netsafe called the advertisement "shocking".
"The more you look at it, it becomes less amazing and more shocking. Obviously total manipulation of a very small bit of film. The mouth is synthesised and all over the place and the nature of what's being said. It's got scam written all over it," Netsafe Chief Online Safety Officer Sean Lyons said.
Figures from Netsafe show scams like these are costing New Zealanders more than $35 million a year.
"If you're looking at it on the phone where there's lots of noise around, how likely is it that you can make those nuanced decisions when something's facing you like that," Lyons added.
The advertisements also warn that supplies are limited, which Lyons called "absolute classics" with "outlandish promises".
"Everybody has had great results and the fear of loss, there's a limited supply. You've got to do this now, there's no time to wait, no time to ask people, buy it now otherwise, you're going to miss out," Lyons said.
And it'll only become more difficult to spot a scam as AI gets increasingly sophisticated.
"As the technology improves, if it's there deceiving our eyes and our ears then we have to do other things to make sure we don't fall victim to someone who's trying to defraud us."
That means checking and double-checking that the company is legitimate before you buy.
'Don't fall for it'
While Danielle did manage to get half of her money back, she told Seven Sharp she was "shy and embarrassed" to speak about the scam to others due to the product being centred around weight loss.
"I think if it was something else, maybe I'd be not so shy and embarrassed, but because it is weight-based…" she said.
"That’s their target market though, and I was silly to fall for it."
Barry was sympathetic, telling her: "I don't think you were silly. I mean you're a trusting person, and that's what they're preying on. I don't think you should feel silly.
"You know that I would never encourage people to change the way they are or endorse weight loss products, don't you? I'd never do that. I'd never do that."
"It just seemed so legit at the time," Danielle replied.
Danielle pleaded for others who come across similar advertisements not to fall for them.
"It's not real. Don't fall for it. Please don't."
Barry isn't the only TVNZ presenter to have her image used without her consent, other scams have involved Wendy Petrie, Miriama Kamo and Hayley Holt.
TVNZ works hard to shut down the fake advertising but it's hard to keep up.
A spokesperson said: "TVNZ’s lawyers initiate takedown proceedings as soon as a new fraud comes to our attention – but it’s very difficult to stamp it out. These scammers are relentless."
In the meantime, Barry has again warned her fans that she doesn't endorse weight loss products.
"Some of these fake ads claimed I'd lost fifty kilograms. Since I weigh about 65kg that would make me dead," she said.
"Besides, I'm all about embracing who you are. I'd never try to sell you this sort of nonsense because I reckon you're perfect just the way you are!"
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