Macquarie Group · AI used against the institution · severity 1 of 5
Macquarie warned in September 2026 that a fake crypto investment platform called 'QUFC Exchange' was being promoted on social media with a false claim that it was partnered with Macquarie Group. In its scam alerts the bank said the platform had been "using the Macquarie brand as well as the names, images, and AI generated videos of senior executives within advertisements and documentation to appear legitimate". Macquarie said it is not affiliated with QUFC Exchange in any way and would never promote or contact people on social media to ask them to invest in a new crypto platform. It asked anyone who received Macquarie-branded correspondence they doubted to forward it to its scams team. The alert does not name the executives or disclose any losses.
Record last reviewed Oct 21, 2026 · Markdown
Date
Institution
Macquarie Group
Country
Australia
AI system
AI-generated videos of Macquarie senior executives used in social-media advertisements and documents
AI?
Described as AI by the institution or regulator
The institution, a regulator or a court called the system AI.
Status
Confirmed by the institution
Severity
1 of 5
Impact
No losses or victim numbers disclosed. · Macquarie's brand and the names, images and AI-generated likenesses of its senior executives were used to promote an unaffiliated crypto platform.
What happened?
In a September 2026 entry on its latest scam alerts page, Macquarie said it was aware of a fake crypto investment platform called 'QUFC Exchange' being promoted on various social-media platforms. According to the bank, the platform claimed to be partnered with Macquarie Group and used the Macquarie brand together with the names, images and AI-generated videos of senior Macquarie executives in its advertisements and documentation to appear legitimate.[1]
Macquarie said it is not affiliated with QUFC Exchange and would never promote or contact anyone on social media asking them to invest in a new crypto platform. The alert does not identify which executives were depicted, how many people were approached, or whether any customers lost money.[1]
When did it happen?
- Sep 2026
QUFC Exchange is promoted on social media with a false claim of partnership with Macquarie Group, using AI-generated videos of senior Macquarie executives, according to the bank.[1]
- Sep 2026
Macquarie adds a 'Macquarie branded crypto investment scam' alert to its scam alerts page, saying it is not affiliated with QUFC Exchange.[1]
What was the impact?
- Customers: No losses or victim numbers disclosed.[1]
- Other: Macquarie's brand and the names, images and AI-generated likenesses of its senior executives were used to promote an unaffiliated crypto platform.[1]
Severity 1 of 5: Contained brand and executive impersonation: Macquarie published a warning, and no customer losses, victim numbers or regulatory action have been disclosed.
How did Macquarie Group respond?
Macquarie said: "Macquarie is not affiliated with QUFC Exchange in any way. We would never promote or contact you on social media to ask you to invest in a new crypto platform." It asked people who suspected Macquarie-branded correspondence was not legitimate not to click links or reply, and to forward it to scams@macquarie.com for review.[1]
What was the outcome, and did regulators act?
Macquarie published a public warning. No takedown results, law-enforcement action or regulator statement about QUFC Exchange have been reported as of 21 October 2026.[1]
Is QUFC Exchange connected to Macquarie?
No. Macquarie said in September 2026 that it is not affiliated with QUFC Exchange in any way, and that the platform's claim to be partnered with Macquarie Group, along with its use of the Macquarie brand and executives' likenesses, was a scam.
Were the Macquarie executive videos AI-generated?
Yes, according to Macquarie. Its scam alert said QUFC Exchange used the names, images and AI-generated videos of senior Macquarie executives in its advertisements and documentation to appear legitimate. The bank did not say which executives were depicted.
Did anyone lose money to the QUFC Exchange scam?
Macquarie's alert did not disclose any losses or victim numbers, and no regulator or police statement about QUFC Exchange had been published as of October 2026. Anyone who invested should contact their bank and report the scam through official channels.
How does Macquarie contact customers about investments?
Macquarie said it would never promote or contact people on social media to ask them to invest in a new crypto platform. It asks anyone unsure about Macquarie-branded correspondence not to click links or respond, and to forward it to scams@macquarie.com.
When AI goes wrong at a bank, the next morning's brief says so.
when one of these regulators moves, the next morning's brief says so · six sourced stories · 7 am PT · free
plus every regulation, bank and agent page update, the morning after · leave any morning