Crypto scams are a pervasive problem that the industry has had a hard time shaking off. Even when the scams get popular enough that investors no longer fall for them, the scammers come out with even more sophisticated versions of their scams to lure unsuspecting investors. The use of prominent figures such as Elon Musk to perpetuate these scams is in no way new, but scammers have now taken this further by using deep fake technology to impersonate the billionaire.
Deep Fake Elon Musk Videos Surface
Previously, crypto scammers had taken to using previous interview videos of billionaire Elon Musk and others talking about cryptocurrency to promote their scams. However, investors had become hip to these schemes, so the scammers have reinvented the wheel one more.
In the last couple of months, multiple videos have emerged where Elon Musk was seemingly talking about cryptocurrencies and asking people to send crypto to a particular address, and they will be doubled. These videos just look real enough to catch the attention of people, but on a closer look, they show an insidious scheme going on.
Using Deep Fake technology, these scammers are now able to create videos of Elon Musk where they ask users to send crypto. The videos have the SpaceX CEO in different outfits and backgrounds talking about the scams in a way that looks real to the unsuspecting eye.
Beware of Elon Musk Deepfake Crypto Scams which are being promoted on YouTube.
Do not fall for such scams. @elonmusk will never ask you to send any crypto. pic.twitter.com/SgjC4pTKlT
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) September 11, 2022
Twitter Users Warn Of Crypto Scams
Dogecoin designer known as cb_doge on Twitter has taken to the social media platform to warn users of these scams. In a thread, they posted three videos, all of “Elon Musk” promoting crypto scams. There is no telling how many people have already fallen for such scams, but it remains important to spread awareness about these scams.
Market recovers over the weekend | Source: Crypto Total Market Cap on TradingView.com
A new report from Scamwatch shows that Australian investors alone had lost more than $240 million to crypto scams so far in 2022, and this is just the number from one country. Recently, US lawmakers had called upon leading platforms such as Meta to submit reports of what they were doing to stop crypto scams on their platforms.
Users had also previously called out video-sharing platform YouTube for now doing enough to stop these types of scams on its platform. An FTC report showed that users lost more than $1 billion to crypto scams in 2021 alone.
The numbers are expected to be even higher in the year 2022 with the rise of the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, as scammers have taken to this sector to expand their nefarious activities.
Featured image from Bloomberg, chart from TradingView.com
