Deepfaked Elon Musk appears in crypto scam on YouTube Live, duping viewers

[midian182]

What just happened? When it comes to scams that use faked footage of celebrities, few are as popular as Elon Musk. A deepfake of the billionaire was used in a YouTube Live broadcast, telling viewers to deposit their crypto at a website to receive double the amount back.

The five-hour broadcast was designed to look like a livestream of a Tesla event, though the title should have suggested something wasn't right: "Tesla's [sic] unveils a masterpiece: The Tesla that will change the car industry forever."

As reported by Engadget, the stream featured an AI-generated version of Musk's voice instructing viewers to deposit their Bitcoin, Ethereum or Dogecoin at a certain website to automatically receive double the amount they deposited straight back.

Over 30,000 concurrent viewers had tuned into the stream at one point – though a percentage were presumably bots – pushing it to the top of YouTube's Live Now recommendations.

The account, @elon.teslastream, had an Official Artist Channel verification badge, suggesting this was an account hack. Google removed the video and the channel after it was informed of the stream.

Courtesy of Engadget

While he's a controversial figure, Musk has a devoted following, which likely explains why he's so popular when it comes to these sorts of scams. He's also been criticized for the influence he has over crypto prices, able to raise or crash a digital currency using a single post on X.

Woow! A verified @YouTube account is impersonating @SpaceX's account and airing a livestream about the solar eclipse. The stream shows a deepfake of Elon Musk asking users to scan a QR code on the screen and deposit cryptocurrencies to have them doubled. 95K users are watching… pic.twitter.com/A0B5XiAfUg

– Mysk ð¨ð¦ð©ðª (@mysk_co) April 8, 2024

Fake Musk livestreams were especially popular during the recent SpaceX launch, with over 35 YouTube channels playing them. Scammers also used the eclipse to push these faked videos, and they were pasted all over the Linus Tech Tips channels after it was hacked earlier last year. In all the cases, the goal was to get viewers to deposit their crypto, usually with the promise of doubling it.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by 50 Cent (@50cent)

Musk wasn't the only person that criminals were using in their crypto scams over the weekend. Rapper 50 Cent's X account and website were hacked to promote a fake coin called $GUNIT. 50 Cent said on Instagram that the hackers made $3 million in 30 minutes via the pump-and-dump scam, highlighting why they're so popular.

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Deepfaked Elon Musk appears in crypto scam on YouTube Live, duping viewers

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

I don't understand how you can own crypto and get scammed. It's a fraction of people who even know how to buy it, and you literally fall for such an obvious scam? "Give us money, we'll double it, and send it back to you" lol

 

[axiomatic13]

Birds of a feather...

 

[wiyosaya]

I don't understand how you can own crypto and get scammed. It's a fraction of people who even know how to buy it, and you literally fall for such an obvious scam? "Give us money, we'll double it, and send it back to you" lol

Anyone giving any money to someone who promises that kind of return in any context, crypto or not, deserves to be taken for their money. It just lends credence the the old adage "A fool and his money are soon parted."

 

[Trapped Nowhere]

How do people fall for this stuff

 

[kiwigraeme]

How do people fall for this stuff

desperation, greed, stupidity/lack of critical thinking, gullible , sales techniques etc etc
Some people are so vulnerable they shouldn't have someone else look after their money
South Park showed people gullible to shopping channels

Even weirder is self denial , but my lover is real, I just need to send them another $10000, then another, another ad infinitum

People actually die in cults for crazy beliefs
I often wondered if Covid 19 had a 30% death rate , and the vaccine was 99% effective and same dis-information cropped up. How many would still allow themselves or family members to die. Some kids lost both parents at different time periods to not vaxxing ( yes their are valid reasons for not getting the vaccine, but I talking about those with "natural" immunity , horse medicine and bleach guzzling tendencies , maybe even used Trumps UV lights rectally for all I know )

 

[Northy]

... maybe even used Trumps UV lights rectally for all I know )

UV rectal lights at least did wonders for morale.

 

[Nobina]

How is this different from real Elon scamming people?

 

[Bamda]

How is this different from real Elon scamming people?

It's probably not. LOL

 

[Bamda]

How do people fall for this stuff

Ahh, you must not watch FOX News. LOL

 

[Trapped Nowhere]

Ahh, you must not watch FOX News. LOL

For not being duped by crypto scams and deepfakes? I don't understand the correlation

 

[Bamda]

For not being duped by crypto scams and deepfakes? I don't understand the correlation

Well you originally stated; "How do people fall for this stuff". My response is you must watch FOX News as a joke, because FOX News spread lies and misinformation and that is "How do people fall for this stuff". And that is the correlation is with sites like FOX News, X, News Max and others that spread lies, misinformation and use other deceitful practices. When you are communicating these falsehoods to people, some people might tend to believe what is being presented as factual. Scams and Deepfakes are just other tools of the trade for these people.

 

[iScamU]

This is so old. These fake streams appeared already years ago.