YouTube was once again inundated with deep fake versions of Elon Musk on Thursday, as scammers attempted to deceive space enthusiasts eager to witness the latest launch of SpaceX’s Starship rocket.
According to cybersecurity researchers at Avast Threat Labs, more than 35 YouTube channels live-streamed an artificial intelligence-generated fake voice of Musk promising to double the amount of cryptocurrency for those who participated in the scheme. The fraudulent streams coincided with Musk’s SpaceX fourth test launch of the reusable Starship rocket, which successfully re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and splashed down in the Indian Ocean as planned.
Among the scammy streams, one YouTube channel posed as an official SpaceX account and broadcasted three simultaneous livestreams promoting the scam, attracting 170,000 viewers, most likely bots to create the appearance of legitimacy. The livestreams featured wide-angle footage of Musk speaking at an outdoor SpaceX event, with some blurring his face to make it difficult for users to identify the fake.
An AI voice resembling Musk instructed viewers to send Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH) to a specific address in order to receive double the amount in return. The AI voice convincingly imitated Musk’s speech patterns, including stutters and pauses, while assuring viewers that the giveaway was genuine.
Although the extent of the scam’s success is unknown, Cointelegraph observed nine wallets containing Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin (DOGE) from what appeared to be three different scammers, with a total balance of approximately $34,000. The streams have since been removed, and the YouTube channel has rebranded itself to mimic the Cardano Foundation, promoting the same scam through a deep fake livestream of Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson.
Elon Musk’s likeness is frequently exploited in crypto scams due to his vocal support for cryptocurrencies, particularly Dogecoin. In the past, similar fake SpaceX YouTube accounts featuring AI-generated versions of Musk promoting a double-your-money scam were discovered during a solar eclipse event in North America.
Recently, Hong Kong’s securities watchdog shut down a company utilizing deep fake videos of Musk on its website and social media platforms to promote an AI-driven crypto trading service that he supposedly developed. These incidents highlight the prevalence of AI-generated scams in the cryptocurrency space, emphasizing the need for vigilance among users.