Bermuda football legend Shaun Goater has confirmed that a video of himself promoting an investment scheme in a clip posted on social media is a scam.

The former Manchester City and Bermuda striker is shown in the artificial intelligence-generated footage that reaches its audience supposedly as part of a news story, introduced by Bermuda Broadcasting Company anchor Dianne Brewer, but with a Bernews logo in the corner of the screen.

He appears to urge his fellow Bermudians and Bermuda residents to invest $250 in an investment scheme that promises large and quick returns on their money and expires this week.

The video depicts Mr Goater unveiling an economic initiative with the potential to change the lives of thousands of Bermudians.

It claims that thousands of Bermudians are already earning extra income, some up to $5,000 a day, with Mr Goater offering to pay the difference to those who do not earn $100,000 in gross income by the end of their first month.

The 56-year-old has distanced himself from the false promotion and warned the public to ignore and delete it.

“It’s been recently brought to my attention that through the use of AI there’s a scam going around looking for Bermudians to invest in some programme showing me talking, again using AI and making it sound as though it’s me,” he told The Royal Gazette.

“This is not me. This is a scam and I would advise all Bermudians to ignore it and recognise that it is scam and to delete it.”

Mr Goater, who scored 84 goals in 184 appearances for Manchester City during a sparkling career, said he was not completely surprised by the video.

“Yes and no in terms of being surprised, because I’ve seen in the past where someone used AI to copy celebrity songs,” he said.

“So no from the point of surprised that they would use me, but then again knowing that Bermuda, the type of place it is ― in terms of the wealth and the cost of things ― I could see why somebody would try.

“The interesting thing was I wasn’t able to open it and neither were my family members, so the individual or individuals had blocked it in a way so that we could not open it. But it just so happens that people who know me know ‘that’s not Shaun speaking’, so that’s where it became evident.

“So not really surprised seeing other celebrities, surprised to think they would use someone like myself. But a scammer is a scammer so they will use anything they can.”

Tony McWilliam, Bermuda Broadcasting executive producer, said: “We are aware of fraudulent videos circulating online that falsely use our branding, presenters and news content to promote so-called ‘AI-powered’ investment opportunities.

“These videos have been manipulated using artificial intelligence and other deceptive techniques to appear as legitimate broadcasts from our organisation.

“To be clear, these videos are not produced, authorised or endorsed by our company in any way.

“This is a malicious misuse of our intellectual property and a deliberate attempt to mislead the public.

“We do not provide investment advice, endorse financial products or promote guaranteed-return schemes through our news programming or digital platforms.”

Mr McWilliam urged members of the public to report any content that appears to misuse Bermuda Broadcasting’s brand or staff through the platform where it appears and notify the company via bbc.bm.

The Royal Gazette also reached out to Bernews for comment.