Naga Munchetty has spoken out after becoming the target of a deepfake scam, revealing fraudsters manipulated images of her to lure victims into online schemes.
The BBC Breakfast presenter, 51, said criminals superimposed her face onto explicit images and circulated them as advertisements designed to drive traffic to fraudulent websites.
“Scammers are smart, conniving, manipulative, wicked people,” she told the Times. “My head was put on a naked body and used as clickbait to drag people into a scam site.”
Munchetty said the use of her likeness in this way did not cause her personal distress, but she was angered by the intent behind it.
She continued: “I wasn't upset that my face was on a naked body, because I knew it was fake, but the fact that it was being used to lure people into being scammed made me so mad. I am outraged and furious.”
The altered images were circulated as paid adverts on platforms including X and Facebook, often styled to resemble legitimate BBC News content.
“Paid-for ads are popping up across X and Facebook, some including crudely mocked-up images of me naked - my face badly photoshopped onto someone else's body,” she previously wrote.
Users who clicked on the adverts were redirected to fraudulent trading platforms designed to extract money.
Munchetty said the scheme relied on the recognisability of her face to gain trust and encourage people to part with their savings.
She first became aware of the images in February last year, describing her initial reaction as a mix of confusion and disbelief.
“I was both mortified and bemused, curious about who would pay good money to spread such obvious nonsense,” she said. “And what was their motive? Is it something malicious? Someone with an axe to grind?”
Rather than ignore the issue, Munchetty raised it with colleagues at Radio 5 Live, and together they began examining the adverts more closely.
Their enquiries revealed a coordinated attempt to exploit her identity as part of a wider fraud.
“I’m not the first high-profile face to be used by scammers to trick people out of their hard-earned money,” she added.
Other broadcasters have reported similar experiences.
Martin Lewis has previously warned about his image being used in cryptocurrency scams, while wildlife presenter Chris Packham has said fabricated articles featuring his likeness have circulated online in recent years.
Elsewhere, the presenter faced backlash earlier this month for making seemingly “rude” comments towards Carol Kirkwood, 63, during the BBC weather presenter’s last day.
