MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Can you spot the difference between the two pictures above?
The left is a screenshot of real Missouri pastor Alan Beauchamp addressing his congregation after his social media accounts were compromised in July 2024.
“My Facebook and Instagram have been hacked,” he told his followers.
The right is a screenshot of a fake video of Beauchamp in the exact same outfit encouraging his congregation to invest in cryptocurrency.
“Hello everyone,” the artificial video says in a British accent. “I hope you’re doing well. I wanted to take a moment to address some concerns and clear up any confusion regarding my recent posts about cryptocurrency.”
The Better Business Bureau of the Mid-South has not received reports of scammers targeting local pastors with artificial intelligence “deepfakes.”
However, BBB spokesman Daniel Irwin told FOX13 there have been plenty of impersonators using social media and text messages.
“Not only targeting pastors, but really targeting their congregation,” Daniel Irwin said. “Ask yourself: Would my pastor really ask me to go get gift cards? Then try to verify the best that you can. Ask questions. Ask someone else. Call the church office.”
Four years ago, Pastor Bartholomew Orr told FOX13 he discovered multiple people posed as him on Cash App.
“Get a job,” he said in 2022. “It’s wrong. You shouldn’t do it. You wouldn’t want anyone to take from you and to steal from your family.”
Whitehaven Pastor Earle Fisher said he hasn’t had anyone impersonate him using artificial intelligence, specifically. However, he said people have impersonated him on social media.
“Artificial intelligence is not as good as authentic intelligence,” he explained. “Somebody is going to respond to me in a text message or our Facebook inbox before they send something. They would say, ‘I know Pastor Earle is not asking for Bitcoin or crypto.’” He laughed.
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