Engadget reported that scammers have exploited a deepfake of Elon Musk to orchestrate a cryptocurrency scam via a YouTube Live broadcast.
The five-hour broadcast used an AI-generated version of Musk’s voice to lure viewers into depositing Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Dogecoin with promises of doubling their returns.
This deceptive scheme attracted over 30,000 viewers, propelling it to the top of YouTube’s Live Now recommendations. However, there is speculation that bots may have inflated the viewer count.
The channel responsible, @elon.teslastream, bore an Official Artist Channel verification badge, which, according to NewsBytes, suggests the possibility of an account hack. Following a tip-off by Engadget, Google quickly removed both the video and the channel.
This incident is the latest in a series of Musk deepfake scams and is part of a broader trend involving fraudulent schemes that mimic high-profile tech personalities to deceive the public. These scams leverage the influence of figures like Musk to promote bogus offers and collect cryptocurrencies illegitimately.
