Over 35 YouTube channels live-streamed deepfake versions of Elon Musk during the recent SpaceX Starship launch, aiming to deceive space enthusiasts and crypto investors. The streams featured an AI-generated voice of Musk, promising viewers doubled returns on their cryptocurrency deposits.
Over 35 YouTube Channels live-streamed in the name of Elon Musk during the SpaceX launch. These fake streams were identified by cybersecurity researchers at Avast Threat Labs during the fourth experimental flight of SpaceX’s massive reusable spacecraft known as the Starship.
The actual event, as seen on SpaceX’s live stream, depicted the rocket re-entering Earth’s atmosphere and splashing down in the Indian Ocean as intended. However, the scam streams gained a lot of traffic by mimicking the genuine SpaceX accounts and having 170,000 viewers, which is likely to be inflated by bots to increase authenticity.
The fake live streams showed Musk at a SpaceX event, speaking to the audience, while some of the streams slightly pixelated Musk’s face to hide the deepfake. An AI-generated voice replicating Musk’s speech pattern, including his stammers and hesitations said to the viewers, “This is not fake, this is a real giveaway, I guarantee it to you.” The voice instructed the viewers to send Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Dogecoin to specific addresses and guaranteed double the amount back.
The streams also contained the sound of a simulated audience clapping, which helped to make it more realistic. “You get a unique opportunity to watch your crypto soar multifold as our rocket soars into space,” the AI voice said. However, the streams seemed to be genuine, but the participants were being scammed.
Nine wallets belonging to three different scammers have received almost $34,000 by the 6th of June. However, it is still unknown how many people lost their money to the scammers. The fact that these wallets still contain a large amount of money points to the fact that some of the viewers were indeed victims.
After the exposure, YouTube removed the fraudulent streams. However, the scammers were able to re-establish the channel renamed it to the Cardano Foundation, and proceeded to use deep fake live streams of Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson.
Elon Musk, a billionaire businessman and owner of Platform X and companies like Tesla, SpaceX is also a vocal supporter of Cryptocurrencies. Recently, a Deepfake video of Elon Musk was made with AI endorsing Crypto Trading services in Hong Kong. According to reports, a fraudulent cryptocurrency exchange named Quantum AI released a Deepfake Video featuring Elon Musk. This AI-generated deep fake video falsely triggers Crypto Users by claiming genuine crypto trading services featuring Elon Musk.
It is not a secret that scammers often use Elon Musk’s image because he is a supporter of cryptocurrencies, especially the Dogecoin. In April, the same Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk found the same fake SpaceX YouTube accounts that used AI-generated Musks to advertise a double-your-money scam during the solar eclipse visible in North America.
There are many rumors surrounding the market in the name of Elon Musk. One of the News circulating about Elon Musk having a Connection with Pi Coin and that he will accept Pi Coin as a payment option. However, no official statement regarding this matter was provided on social media or elsewhere. Failure to receive an official statement from Pi Coin left room for potential scams exploiting Elon Musk's name in the crypto space.
CoinGabbar highlights that it's important for viewers to be cautious and skeptical about the content they watch. This kind of scam uses advanced technology to create convincing fake videos. As the deepfake technology develops, it becomes difficult to distinguish between the original stream and a fake one. The fake streams featuring Elon Musk were part of a scam to steal cryptocurrency from unsuspecting viewers. Despite being taken down, the scammers quickly shifted to a new target, showing how persistent and adaptable they are. Therefore, in such a situation be cautious and double-check information online, especially when it involves sending money or personal information.
Also Read: The Truth Behind SpaceX and Cryptocurrency Rumors
