Elon Musk deepfake crypto scams are on the rise and they’re getting better

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By Matthew Griffin Security and Privacy 18th June 2022

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

Deepfakes are getting better, in two years they’ll be perfect, and that means you won’t be able to trust anything you see. And that’s a huge issue.

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A network of cyber scammers is defrauding people by streaming fake Elon Musk videos on YouTube, and they’re conning thousands of people by using DeepFake technology to trick people into thinking that Musk is really saying the things he seems to be saying in the videos. Namely, that he’s promoting new all too good to be true crypto deals. To do it the criminals are reportedly hijacking popular YouTube accounts and using the videos to promote fake cryptocurrency giveaways, and this month alone tens of thousands of people tuned into these streams over four days as reported by the BBC.

‘These accounts are impersonators and not affiliated with ARK Invest in any way,’ she said. ‘ARK Invest will never use YouTube or other social media to solicit money, including cryptocurrency.’

However, as DeepFakes get better and begin to look and sound more authentic the only thing that’s guaranteed is that in the future there’ll be a lot more of these hoaxes and that a lot more people will get duped by them, which is why it’s more imperative than ever that companies and regulators alike better prepare themselves for what’s next.

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Matthew Griffin, described as a "Walking encyclopaedia of the future" by NASA and a futurist polymath, is one of the world's most renowned futurists and strategic foresight experts. A serial entrepreneur Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working across the next 50 years, XPotential University, the world's first free futures and foresight university, and the World Futures Forum which works with the United Nations to solve the worlds greatest challenges. 13 times author of the Codex of the Future series, Matthew is an in demand international keynote, acclaimed university lecturer, and host of the hit Fanatical Futurist podcast.

A rare talent in his past Matthew helped build and run several multi-billion dollar business units for Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, and his ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends on global business, culture, and society has earned him a powerful reputation and a roster of clients that include royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77+ governments, and many of the world's most respected brands including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi Group, Coca Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Disney, EY, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Pepsi Co, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, and many others. He was also the only futurist invited to talk at the UN COP28 held in Dubai alongside world leaders.

Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.