Although the Bitcoin 2024 event has wrapped up, the past three days have seen a deepfake Elon Musk “double-your-money” scam on YouTube.
Posing as the official Bitcoin 2024 livestream, the scam has tricked unsuspecting users into parting with their crypto assets.
Over the weekend, multiple deepfake livestreams featuring Musk were active, with one specific video alone amassing over $28,000 in bitcoin, ether, and dogecoin.
Beware: Fake Bitcoin 2024 Livestreams Featuring Elon Musk Scamming Viewers
As this post is being written, a livestream on YouTube claims to be the official Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville.
This and several other phony videos have been streaming all weekend. The stream is basically a looped artificial intelligence (AI)-generated deepfake of Elon Musk, making it appear that he has been livestreaming non-stop for 72 hours.
Elon’s fake portrayal shows him speaking on a stage, and those not paying close attention might believe it is genuine.
The scam claims to be from Bitcoin 2024’s promoter, Bitcoin Magazine, and is titled “Bitcoin 2024 Conference Nashville! Donald Trump & Elon Musk Speech – General Day 2.”
It also falsely claims to feature Microstrategy’s founder, Michael Saylor, but only loops the Musk deepfake with Tesla logos in the backdrop.
The scam follows the typical “double your money” scheme, enticing users to send any amount of bitcoin, ether, dogecoin, or tether (USDT), with the promise of receiving double the amount sent.
However, the scammers keep the funds without returning anything. The deepfake Musk insists that it doesn’t matter whether a person sends 0.1 BTC or 10 BTC, as double will be returned.
This post serves as a reminder that anyone promising to double someone’s crypto by having them send funds to their wallet is a scammer.
We observed three distinct livestreams this weekend, and there may have been more. In one video, we investigated by examining onchain records, the deepfake Musk scam accepted deposits in BTC, ETH, DOGE, and USDT, although no tether was sent to the scammers.
The fraudsters did receive BTC, ETH, and DOGE from unsuspecting victims. Onchain data shows that 0.322 BTC, 2.026 ETH, and 374.63 DOGE were sent to the scammers.
The total value, amounting to $28,586, leaves the earnings of other livestreams unknown. Unfortunately, YouTube doesn’t take down these videos as quickly as those it deems “misinformation.”
Many others noticed the live stream too, and it must have been reported several times, but as of Sunday, July 28, at 4:25 p.m. EDT, it is still pretending to stream ‘live’ with a fake Musk on stage. The video also claims to have 91,000 viewers, a number that’s very likely manipulated.
Bitcoin proponent Michael Dunworth discussed the scam on X, warning the crypto community. “I’ve had people call me telling me Elon Musk is giving free bitcoins away at Bitcoin ‘24,” Dunworth wrote on X.
“No wonder, they have a fake live stream with dubbed voice-over, and 70k+ (fake) people watching the live stream. Be cautious,” he added.
I’ve had people call me telling me Elon Musk is giving free Bitcoins away at Bitcoin ‘24
….
No wonder, they have a fake live stream with dubbed voice over, and 70k+ (fake) people watching the live stream.
Be cautious! pic.twitter.com/U8scddWiwo
— ⏳ Michael Dunworth⌛️ (@MichaelDunwort1) July 27, 2024
What do you think about the fake Elon Musk livestream scam that was running over the past few days and continues to stream? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
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