AIGenerated Deepfake Elon Musk Uses YouTube Live to Promote Crypto Scam

AI-Generated Deepfake Elon Musk Promotes Crypto Scam on YouTube Live


By Sujha Sundararajan
Updated: June 24, 2024 04:12 EDT
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1 min read


A deepfake video of Elon Musk, created by artificial intelligence, was streamed live on YouTube, promoting a fake cryptocurrency giveaway and leading viewers to a suspicious website.
The video, which was eventually removed, was broadcast for five hours on Sunday, mimicking a segment from a Tesla event.
According to a report from Engadget, the video featured an AI-generated voice of Elon Musk encouraging viewers to visit a website and deposit Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin in order to participate in a giveaway.
The video claimed that the website would “automatically return double the amount of the cryptocurrency you deposited.”
At one point, the video attracted over 30,000 viewers, propelling it to the top of YouTube’s Live Now recommendations.


Source: Engadget
Members of the cryptocurrency community warned users on X to be cautious of the crypto YouTube scam. One user noted that the convincing scam was a result of “the current advancements in artificial intelligence and deepfake technology.”
“Deepfakes, which are AI-generated videos that can seamlessly replace one person’s likeness with another, have demonstrated how easily visual and audio media can be manipulated,” the user added.
Another user urged the YouTube Team to take action on this ‘serious crime.’ “This was a fake/deepfake with the intention to scam people out of their cryptocurrency,” the user wrote.
In a cybersecurity report released last month, it was revealed that more than 35 YouTube channels live-streamed a deepfake video of Elon Musk promoting a high-return crypto scam, targeting space enthusiasts eager to watch the SpaceX starship rocket launch.
Celebrity-Targeted Crypto Scams
Crypto scams and fraudulent promotions aimed at Musk’s followers on social media have been a persistent issue over the years. For example, in October 2023, another deepfake of Elon Musk promised a 30% return on deposits, urging users to invest in the BitVex trading platform.
Crypto scam promotions are not exclusive to Elon Musk. Rapper 50 Cent’s X account was hacked last Sunday to carry out a multimillion-dollar memecoin rug pull. Interestingly, the hacker who compromised the account made $3,000,000 in just 30 minutes.
“My Twitter & Thisis 50.com was hacked I have no association with this Crypto,” the rapper wrote on Instagram. “Twitter worked quickly to lock my account back down. Whoever did this made $3,000,000 in 30 minutes.”
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