An illegal gambling site stole my identity. It could happen to you

Exclusive: In the middle of a suburban street in Western Sydney sits a small shopfront, with an Optus advertisement hanging in the window.

It’s the home of the Western Sydney Business Centre in Penrith - but its address is being used by a fake website that stole my identity using AI.

I tracked it down after seeing an enhanced picture of myself used to write fake reviews for a gambling website called Sporty Report. The difference between the fake image and my nine.com.au headshot is incredibly stark.

Their bio claimed I was “Australia’s most authoritative independent sports betting analyst and the country’s most influential expert on bookmaker operations,” alongside the enhanced image.

I’d “written” dozens of articles ranging from in-depth analysis on sports betting theories to reviews of other gambling websites, all attempting to push free or bonus bets through their website.

Seven gambling platforms, all based offshore, were promoted by the website; three are banned in Australia.

Legal experts in technology and AI told me these scams are becoming common, with websites spurning celebrity “endorsements” for scraping the data of normal people to make their dupes look more believable.

“The goal is just to constantly be adapting and to create an environment where people might be tricked into falling for the scam,” Nicole Shackleton, a lecturer of law at RMIT, said.

“They’re interested in creating a sense of authenticity.”

In a previous role, I published sports betting previews, looking at the potential outcome of sporting events. However, in no way did I endorse or support specific gambling platforms.

I tried and failed to contact the “owners” of the website through two email addresses listed on the site.

I also found the website’s IP address was based in San Jose, California, the registered phone number was Dutch, and the map of its “office” was in Russian.

John Swinson, a lawyer-turned-professor at the University of Queensland, said this is intentional, making the creators harder to find and making any legal action more difficult.

“It’s typically a country which is not a common law country or a Western country because the laws there are sophisticated,” he said, naming Iceland, the Philippines and even North Korea as countries where such websites originate.

“A person can remain anonymous, so trying to find out who’s actually behind it is very difficult,” he added.

Laws in Australia are thin; while it is illegal to create sexually explicit deepfakes, there are no laws specifically against fake websites using your identity to promote a scam.

“The laws technically apply, [but] the difficulty becomes in enforcement,” Shackleton said.

“We know the IP is registered in the US, and we’re able to determine there’s perhaps a potential individual who’s attached to that.

“You then have to… launch the matter here in Australia, identifying who they are, and then trying to have them be made aware of the case over there and try to get them to come to Australia.”

This means such scams flourish, and the consequences can be devastating.

“I’ve come across cases where people have made investments based upon these kinds of fake websites and lost $250,000 of their superannuation money after retirement,” Swinson said.

If someone is scammed, the person whose identity was used in the deception could then be targeted.

“There’s a danger that because your name and then reputation becomes associated with an obvious scam, there will be people who probably lose money because of that scam, and they could hold you responsible,” Shackleton warned.

Nathan Todd, executive officer at the Western Sydney Business Centre, didn’t know his address had been targeted by Sporty Report until I contacted him.

Todd was “frustrated” by the revelation and believes his company is not alone after offering help to other small businesses.

“A lot of small businesses go through it as well,” he said.

“It’s a lot easier to do now with AI, so a lot of businesses that we see are now being exposed to it.”

Both Todd and Shackleton think more needs to be done to raise awareness.

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“There’s conversations we need to have about just technology in general… it changes society and relationships and communication, and knowledge and truth,” she said. 

“Without those bigger conversations, then it allows things like AI to be maliciously used.”

I initially treated the website, the fake image and biography of me as a joke, but it is far more serious than I imagined.

The scraping of my data makes it clear how much about myself can be used by people and parties I don’t know exist.

My identity being used to promote something with ethical and legal issues crosses boundaries I am not comfortable with.

It could be me today, but any of us tomorrow.