In the latest trend, crypto scams are using deepfake technology to trick investors into a bogus scheme of ‘double your money.’ After the Bitcoin 2024 event commenced, many users suspected a 3-day continuous live stream on YouTube featuring a deepfake of Elon Musk. Impersonating the event as the official Bitcoin 2024 Nashville conference, scammers stole over $28K in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin from viewers.
The criminals’ YouTube streams fake-painted Elon Musk speaking onstage with a Tesla logo in the background. As it should be, it was titled “Bitcoin 2024 Conference Nashville! Donald Trump & Elon Musk General Day 2” and went live for more than 72 hours. The stream also claimed to feature Microstrategy Founder Michael Saylor, but it continuously repeated Musk’s video.
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Fraudsters Drained $28,586 in BTC, ETH and Doge
This week, fake live streams and multiple phoney videos circulated on YouTube, capitalising on the 2024 Bitcoin conference. Most live streams follow typical schemes of double-your-money and get-rich-quick, alluring users to send any amount of BTC, USDT, ETH, or Doge with guaranteed double returns. The deepfake Musk insisted it doesn’t matter if you send 0.1 BTC or 10 BTC; you will surely get double the amount you invest.
The fake livestream turned out to be a well-crafted trap that deceived many users who believed it was official. Viewers sent their cryptos to the scammer’s wallet for the sake of double returns. Onchain data revealed that fraudsters received 0.322 BTC, 2.026 ETH, and 374 Doge from victims. The actual value of these stolen coins is about $28,586. Michael Dunworth, Co-founder of Wyre Payment, highlighted the latest scam on X (formerly Twitter).
He said:
I’ve had people call me telling me Elon Musk is giving free bitcoins away at Bitcoin ’24. No wonder, they have a fake live stream with dubbed voice-over, and 70k+ (fake) people watching the live stream. Be cautious.
Crypto Scams Using AI Deepfake Rising Around the Globe
It’s not the first time scammers have used deepfake technology to loot crypto enthusiasts across the globe. Last month, an AI-generated stream went live for five hours, showing a sophisticated deepfake of Elon Musk. In that stream, fake Musk announced a “revolutionary” Tesla event and a “generous cryptocurrency giveaway” for its followers. Similarly, many of these viewers fell victim to this scam in the greed of doubling their money.
In June 2024, many users reported the deepfake livestreams of Elon Musk and other celebrities to YouTube officials. In response, YouTube suspended all accounts involved in the scam activities.
CNBC reported that deepfake scams have robbed millions of dollars from different companies across the globe. In Hong Kong, a fraudster tricked a finance worker by making himself his colleague using a deepfake in a video call. Then, he made him transfer $25 million to its fraud account. It was the most giant deepfake scam discovered this year.
The rising trend of deepfake technology pushes payment firms and businesses to develop robust technology in their economic framework. Cybercriminals can easily exploit and manipulate the digital world using AI-generated videos, text, and images. Acknowledging such risks and implementing proper measures to safeguard the digital assets landscape from intruders is crucial.
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