At first glance, the man in the video looks and sounds just like billionaire businessman Elon Musk pitching a new cryptocurrency investment opportunity. But the 28-second clip that went viral last month is the latest scam involving “deepfake” technology.
“Unfortunately people have already fallen for it,” Better Business Bureau spokesperson Paula Fleming said. “It’s extremely convincing because it’s and video and it’s a short video. If you’re scrolling through your social media it looks like a legit deal and who wouldn’t follow the advice of someone like Elon Musk that has that billionaire status?”
Even Musk himself felt compelled to tweet, “Yikes, def not me,” shortly after the video surfaced online. The BBB issued an advisory in June about the danger of deepfake videos because Fleming said too many consumers are falling for the phony Musk video.
“What [the scammers are] trying to do is get your personal or financial information. Unfortunately, hundreds of people throughout New England have already fallen victim to this,” Fleming said.
Deepfake videos, when a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else’s likeness, are becoming more common as technology improves. TikTok user deeptomcruise racked up millions of views in 2021 with his Tom Cruise deepfakes. The man behind the fake Cruise account, actor Miles Fischer, said it’s all in good fun. But law enforcement officials say deepfake technology is opening the door…
