A YouTube Live broadcast that lasted for five hours today showcased a deepfake version of Elon Musk promoting a cryptocurrency scam. This is just one of many fake streams that have been circulating. The video, which has since been removed, featured a clip of Musk that appeared to be a live feed from a Tesla event. An AI-generated voice, sounding like Musk, was urging viewers to visit a website and deposit their bitcoin, Ethereum, or Dogecoin in order to participate in a giveaway. The scam promised to send back double the amount of cryptocurrency deposited.
At one point, over 30,000 viewers were watching the stream, although it’s possible that some of these views were from bots. This popularity pushed the stream to the top of YouTube’s Live Now recommendations. The account behind this scam, @elon.teslastream, had the Official Artist Channel verification badge, indicating a potential account hack. Both the video and the channel were taken down after Engadget contacted Google for more information.
These fake Elon Musk giveaway scams have been on the rise in recent months, with scammers posing as Musk’s various companies. One recent scam was titled “Tesla’s [sic] unveils a masterpiece: The Tesla that will change the car industry forever.” Similar scams were reported in June by Cointelegraph, with 35 accounts pretending to be SpaceX around the time of the Starship launch. In April, scammers tried to capitalize on the eclipse frenzy using the same tactic, as reported by Mashable. There have also been multiple reports of fake Musk livestreams circulating on Reddit.
Crypto scams targeting Elon Musk’s followers on social media have been a persistent issue for years, along with scams involving other celebrities. Just last Friday, 50 Cent fell victim to a hack that used his accounts to carry out a pump-and-dump scheme. It is essential for viewers to be cautious and skeptical of any cryptocurrency giveaways or investment opportunities promoted by celebrities on social media platforms. Be sure to verify the authenticity of such promotions before participating to avoid falling prey to scams.
