Tesla CEO Elon Musk became the center of another social media scam when a YouTube Live stream used his deepfake to trick viewers. Engadget reported.
The five-hour-long cryptocurrency scam stream featured an AI-generated version of Musk's voice, encouraging viewers to deposit their Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Dogecoin on a specific website to receive the promised gift.
The plan claimed that it would “automatically return double the amount of cryptocurrency deposited.”
The hoax stream attracted more than 30,000 viewers, propelling it to the top of YouTube's Live Now recommendations. However, suspicions were raised that the bots could have artificially increased the number of viewers.
The account behind the scam, @elon.teslastream, had a verification badge from the Official Artist Channel, suggesting a possible hack of the account. NewsBytes reported.
Both the video and the channel were quickly removed after Engadget alerted Google to the fraudulent activity.
Deepfake scams on the rise on social media
The latest incident is part of a growing trend of Musk deepfake scams, using an account impersonating one of Musk's companies.
The cryptocurrency scam follows a recent scam that was titled “Tesla unveils a masterpiece: the Tesla that will change the automotive industry forever.”
Earlier this month, Cointelegraph reported similar scams involving 35 accounts pretending to be SpaceX during the Starship launch.
Additionally, in April, scammers took advantage of the total solar eclipse hype using the same tactic. Fake livestreams of Musk were also posted recently on Reddit.
Cryptocurrency scams have consistently targeted Musk's followers and other celebrities have also fallen victim to these types of scams.
