Crypto Scammers Deepfake Tim Cook During iPhone 16 Launch

On September 9, scammers flooded YouTube with deepfake movies of Apple CEO Tim Cook, aiming to trick viewers into investing in cryptocurrencies. The rip-off coincided with Apple’s “Glowtime” occasion, the place the corporate launched its iPhone 16 fashions.

The rip-off livestreams concerned an AI-generated Tim Cook telling the 350K viewers to ship Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, or Dogecoin to a ‘contribution tackle’ and get double of the quantity they despatched. “When you full your deposit, the system will routinely course of it and ship again double the quantity of cryptocurrency you deposited,” the faux Cook mentioned.

Such scams are generally known as ‘double-your-money’ schemes the place the scammers ask customers to ship their crypto in alternate for a promise to double their quantity. In actual fact, the scammers get to maintain the cash.

One of many faux livestreams was created on a channel that was a clone of “Apple US” and had a verified badge subsequent to its title. Most of those streams attracted lots of of hundreds of viewers, nonetheless, you will need to word that many of those views might have been faux accounts set as much as make the stream look extra official.

YouTube’s support team confirmed the issue within the September 9 X (previously Twitter) message and requested the customers to report the faux movies. The rip-off livestreams have since been taken down, and the accounts linked to the scams have been deactivated. YouTube has not but responded to requests for additional remark.

It’s now attainable to see deepfake scams that contain high-profile personalities and vital occasions. In June, there was one other such case of a deepfake of Elon Musk endorsing crypto scams throughout SpaceX’s Starship rocket launch.

With the development of AI in content material creation, such scams are being anticipated an increasing number of. The World Financial Discussion board’s 2024 “World Dangers Report” has pointed to the rising threats linked to AI applied sciences.

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