As per the recent reports, Youtube has again witnessed fake Elon Musks getting live streamed during SpaceX Launch in a hope to make SpaceX Space lovers their prey.
Hackers trying to steal #crypto through fake @SpaceX @YouTube channel with QR code to https://t.co/JUujGAKg17 @elonmusk be aware of this scam on behalf of your name #deepfake pic.twitter.com/SNVnuoX7Zk
— ference (@ference) June 6, 2024
Surprisingly, all this has been executed with the help of Artificial Intelligence! How?
AI & Scams Associated With The Rocket Launch
Over 35 fake Elon Musks were a part of this masterplan, who, very smartly made use of the AI to generate fake voice of Musk and promised the crypto enthusiasts of double profits in the crypto space if they deposited in the scheme. The scheme was all about Bitcoin and Ethereum, which if sent to a particular address, will double the profits for the investors.
In fact, CoinTelegraph specifically found out one Youtube channel who pretended to be no other than official handle of SpaceX and contributed in pushing three fraud livestreams with the help of bots making this all seem a reality. Reportedly, around 170,000 viewers turned in making the scam a successful one. The livestreams clearly displayed Elon Musk giving speech on a stage at an outdoor SpaceX event but the face was blurred to make recognition a hard task.
The AI actually did a decent job in creating a havoc, being a clear example of if these AI bots are not used in the right way, they can actually cause lots of trouble.
“You have a chance to see your crypto propel exponentially as our rocket propels toward the stars,” the voice said, followed by a recording of an applauding crowd.
Was The Scam A Successful One?
Musk launched SpaceX’s massive, reusable Starship rocket for its fourth test flight at the same time as the fraudulent streams. The actual livestream showed that it made a flight through Earth’s atmosphere and did a safe landing in the Indian Ocean.
Even though the real number of victims are unknown, it is believed that nine wallets containing Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin (DOGEUSD) from what looked to be three different scammers, had a total wallet of about $34,000. The maximum transactions were recorded on June 6 , 2024.
However, the streams have now been taken down by the YouTube. The same kind of livestreams have also been noticed with reference to Cardano Foundation via a fake livestream of Cardano co founder – Charles Hoskinson who has been very active in the crypto world.
Is It The First Time?
Honestly, this is not the first time such scams have happened in the niche. From the scams of Shiba Inu to fake livestreams, all of it has been a part of the evolving crypto world. In fact, your crypto wallets can also be at risk, if you are not vigilant enough.
Security researchers Tommy Mysk and Talal Haj Bakry discovered similar phony SpaceX YouTube profiles in April. These accounts included live-streamed, AI-generated Musks promoting a double-your-money fraud in tandem with a solar eclipse that was visible in North America.
Hence, amongst all this it becomes very important to be cautious of what all accounts you are following as your primary source of information because these have the potential to influence your decision making, directly or indirectly.
That’s all from our side! For more such regular and informative updates on the world of crypto, stay tuned at ReadingCrypto and we promise, we won’t disappoint you.
