These deceptively realistic fake ads often contain manipulated videos and fabricated interviews in which well-known personalities or politicians appear to promote dubious financial investments or make recommendations. In reality, these contents have been created by presumed criminal organizations using modern technologies to imitate the voices and faces of these personalities and attribute false statements to them.
Despite regular warnings in the affected Ringier media, users continue to fall for these sophisticated scams and sometimes lose substantial sums. In one specific case, a person transferred 32,000 Swiss francs to fraudsters.
Serafin Oberholzer, lawyer and Senior Legal Counsel at Ringier: «With this criminal complaint, we not only want to prosecute the direct perpetrators. We’re also sending a clear message to social media companies like Meta to take more responsibility. They have the technical means to detect and prevent such fake ads.»
The filed criminal complaint covers several serious offenses, including participation in a criminal organization and money laundering. Ringier also accuses the perpetrators of professional fraud, which involves repeatedly and systematically deceiving others for financial gain. Another offense is identity theft, where the perpetrators impersonate other individuals or companies. Additionally, violations of trademark law and the law against unfair competition are cited.
Tobias Schaffner, lawyer and partner at Niedermann Rechtsanwälte: «We’re dealing with professionally orchestrated fraud. First, Ringier’s brand and image, as well as the identity of personalities, are misused to gain the trust of victims. Then, the victims are pressured by phone with false promises until they transfer their money to a fraudulent platform. The money is subsequently laundered.»
The filing of the criminal complaint is accompanied by a series of articles in Blick. This series sheds light on the fraudsters’ methods, shows how to recognize and protect against fake ads, and also asks policymakers what legal tools are being developed to combat these criminal activities.
Ringier has already taken various measures in the past to combat these fraudulent ads. These included, among others, contacting website hosting providers and filing reports with the National Cyber Security Centre. Despite these efforts, new fake ads keep appearing. This makes stronger involvement from authorities and social media platforms in the fight against online fraud all the more urgent.
Besides Ringier, numerous media companies across Europe are affected by such fraud cases involving fake websites or ads, and some have filed lawsuits. Many identity theft victims, such as Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, are taking legal action. In Germany, doctor and TV presenter Eckart von Hirschhausen obtained an urgent ruling from the Frankfurt am Main Court of Appeal in March 2025, requiring host providers like Meta to delete content-identical posts without additional notification after being informed about law-violating content.
Caution is always advised when dealing with online ads promising exceptionally high returns. It is recommended to critically examine these offers and, in case of doubt, refrain from participating. If you nevertheless fall victim to online fraud, report the incident immediately to the police and the banks involved to enable potential prosecution and protect others.