- Hong Kong authorities have warned of a scam using a deepfake Elon Musk video to defraud investors.
- The group claimed to offer AI-driven cryptocurrency trading services.
- This isn't the first time fraudsters have used a deepfake version of Elon Musk.
No, Elon Musk didn't create some shady cryptocurrency trading website that random people on Facebook will tell you to invest in.
Last week, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission issued a warning about deepfake scams. A group calling itself Quantum AI or AI Quantum is using deepfake videos of Elon Musk to trick people into thinking he is behind the software, according to a statement.
This group is not to be confused with NASA's Quantum AI Lab (QuAIL), which focuses on research in quantum computing.
As the technology behind artificial intelligence advances, fraudsters are increasingly using deepfakes to trick victims into handing over cash.
“Deepfakes” use artificial intelligence to imitate a person’s face or voice in a video or audio clip. Scammers use deepfakes to set up video calls with victims. They then use a combination of webcams and software to change the victim's facial features to resemble the person they think they are communicating with.
For example, Yahoo Boys, a notorious Nigerian fraud group, uses deepfakes to trick people into romance scams.
The Hong Kong group claimed to offer crypto trading services using underlying artificial intelligence. However, Hong Kong authorities said they suspected this was a front for “crypto-asset-related fraud.” According to the alert, the group used three websites and two Facebook pages to carry out cryptocurrency fraud.
Authorities say the group used deepfake videos of Musk to trick victims into believing he was the creator of the technology, giving legitimacy to the fake company. Authorities say they even created a fake “news” website to promote false information about the service.
According to CryptoNews, Hong Kong police have shut down all websites and social media pages. Hong Kong police did not respond to BI's request for comment.
This isn't the first time scammers have used Musk's deepfakes to steal money from victims. In April, a South Korean woman said she lost $50,000 after being contacted on Instagram by a scammer pretending to be Mr. Musk. She even had a video call with someone she thought was a billionaire everywhere.
“Mr. Musk even said, 'I love you, you know?'” when we had a video call, the woman told 60 Minutes about the deepfaked conversation.