Bank of Montreal (BMO Financial Group) · AI used against the institution · severity 1 of 5
BleepingComputer reported on 17 June 2025 that Instagram ads run under the name "BMO Belski" used Bank of Montreal's name and AI-generated deepfake videos of BMO chief investment strategist Brian Belski to lure users into a "private WhatsApp investment group". The ads were run from a repurposed Facebook page and kept appearing for days after BleepingComputer reported them to Instagram. After BleepingComputer contacted him, Belski posted a warning that he posts only from his official LinkedIn account, and The Globe and Mail reported his disavowal as part of a wave of impersonation scams targeting Canadian investors. No losses tied to the BMO Belski ads have been reported, and no BMO corporate statement was found.
Record last reviewed Oct 21, 2026 · Markdown
Date
Institution
Country
Canada
AI system
AI-generated deepfake video of a bank executive in social-media ads
AI?
Machine-learning system (inferred from the record)
The sources describe a machine-learning model; nobody on the record labelled it AI.
Status
Reported
Severity
1 of 5
Impact
No losses tied to the BMO Belski ads reported · Instagram users were steered to submit contact details and join WhatsApp "investment" groups using BMO's name and its chief investment strategist's likeness.
What happened?
BleepingComputer reported on 17 June 2025 that an Instagram story ad captioned "BMO Belski" asked users screening questions such as "How long have you been investing in stocks?" and then asked them to submit contact details. The ad used BMO's name and implied affiliation with Brian Belski, BMO's chief investment strategist. BleepingComputer said it also saw "BMO Belski" ads playing AI-generated deepfake videos of Belski that lured people to a "private WhatsApp investment group".[1]
According to BleepingComputer, the advertiser had a Facebook page but no Instagram account. The page had existed since 27 October 2023 under another name, "Brentlinger Matt Blumm", and held just two posts, both made that week, which BleepingComputer read as a sign that the scammers had repurposed an existing page. BleepingComputer reported the ads to Instagram, but they continued to appear days later.[1]
The Globe and Mail reported on 22 June 2025 that Belski had warned his followers about the bogus Instagram and Facebook ads, which sought to lure users to WhatsApp investment groups through AI-generated videos showing him turning his head and promising to "share three stock picks and the latest market insights every day". It placed the campaign in a wider pattern of finance experts being impersonated online; Canada's Anti-Fraud Centre put net losses from investment scams that began on social media at $128.4-million in 2024, a figure not specific to these ads.[2]
The same BleepingComputer investigation found separate Instagram ads mimicking EQ Bank that led to a credential-phishing site; those ads did not involve AI and are not part of this record. Malwarebytes and the AI Incident Database (incident 1114) later summarised the BMO Belski deepfake ads.[1][3][4]
When did it happen?
- Oct 27, 2023
The Facebook page later renamed "BMO Belski" is created under another name, according to BleepingComputer.[1]
- Jun 17, 2025
BleepingComputer reports Instagram ads using AI deepfake videos of BMO strategist Brian Belski and contacts BMO and Belski.[1]
- Jun 18, 2025
Belski posts a public warning that he only posts from his official LinkedIn account; BleepingComputer updates its article.[1][2]
- Jun 22, 2025
The Globe and Mail reports Belski's disavowal alongside other impersonations of finance experts.[2]
What was the impact?
- Customers: No losses tied to the BMO Belski ads reported[1][2]
- Other: Instagram users were steered to submit contact details and join WhatsApp "investment" groups using BMO's name and its chief investment strategist's likeness.[1][2]
Severity 1 of 5: An impersonation lure with no losses tied to this campaign reported and no regulatory consequence; the ads kept running for days after being reported to Instagram.
How did Bank of Montreal (BMO Financial Group) respond?
Brian Belski, BMO's chief investment strategist, warned the public: "To be clear: I only post from this official LinkedIn account and do not engage on other social platforms." BleepingComputer said it contacted BMO; no BMO corporate statement on the ads was found in BleepingComputer's or The Globe and Mail's reporting or in a web search as of 2026-10-21.[1][2]
What was the outcome, and did regulators act?
A source told BleepingComputer that Meta was investigating the content and would remove any deemed fraudulent. No regulatory or law-enforcement action specific to the BMO Belski ads has been reported.[1]
Was the BMO Belski investment group real?
No. The "BMO Belski" ads on Instagram were run from a repurposed Facebook page, according to BleepingComputer, and Brian Belski publicly warned that he only posts from his official LinkedIn account and does not engage on other social platforms.
Were the Brian Belski videos AI deepfakes?
BleepingComputer and The Globe and Mail both described the videos as AI-generated. BMO and Belski have not publicly described how the videos were made, so this record classes the AI element as inferred from the reporting rather than stated by the bank.
Did anyone lose money to the BMO Belski deepfake ads?
No losses tied to these ads have been reported. The Globe and Mail cited a Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre figure of $128.4-million in 2024 losses to investment scams that began on social media, but that figure covers all such scams, not this campaign.
Did BMO or a regulator act on the deepfake ads?
No BMO corporate statement or regulatory action was found as of October 2026. Belski issued his own warning, and a source told BleepingComputer that Meta was investigating the ads and would remove any it deemed fraudulent.
- Instagram ads mimicking BMO, EQ Bank are finance scams security research
- Scammers are impersonating finance experts to steal millions – and the real ones are struggling to stop it news
- Fake bank ads on Instagram scam victims out of money security research
- Incident 1114: Alleged AI-Generated Video Ads Impersonate Bank of Montreal Strategist Brian Belski to Promote Investment Scam incident index
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