Crypto Scammers Deepfake Tim Cook During iPhone 16 Launch

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As a seasoned crypto investor with a decade of experience under my belt, I can’t help but feel a mix of dismay and amusement when I hear about these elaborate deepfake scams. It seems like every time there’s a major tech event or product launch, scammers are quick to capitalize on the hype and exploit unsuspecting investors.

On the 9th of September, swindlers bombarded YouTube with fake videos depicting Apple CEO Tim Cook, intending to deceive viewers into purchasing cryptocurrencies. This fraudulent activity occurred concurrently with Apple’s “Glowtime” event, during which they introduced their iPhone 16 models.

The scam livestreams involved an AI-generated Tim Cook telling the 350K viewers to send Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, or Dogecoin to a ‘contribution address’ and get double of the amount they sent. “Once you complete your deposit, the system will automatically process it and send back double the amount of cryptocurrency you deposited,” the fake Cook said.

These fraudulent activities often go by the name “doubling investment” schemes, where swindlers request cryptocurrency from victims under the pretense of doubling the initial investment. However, in reality, the con artists pocket the funds themselves.

In one instance, a counterfeit livestream was initiated on a channel mimicking “Apple US” and bearing a verified symbol beside its title. Many of these streams garnered hundreds of thousands of viewers, but it’s crucial to remember that a significant portion of those views might have originated from fake accounts created to bolster the stream’s credibility.

As an analyst, I can confirm that on September 9th, YouTube’s support team acknowledged the issue regarding the spread of fake videos and requested users to report such instances. Subsequently, the misleading livestreams have been successfully removed, and the associated accounts have been deactivated. At the time of writing, YouTube has yet to provide additional comments on this matter.

Currently, we’re witnessing deepfake deceptions involving prominent figures like Elon Musk and major events, such as the recent instance where a deepfake video portrayed him endorsing cryptocurrency scams during a SpaceX’s Starship rocket launch in June.

As artificial intelligence continues to advance in content generation, fraudulent activities associated with it are becoming more noticeable. The World Economic Forum’s 2024 “Global Risks Report” highlights the growing concerns related to risks connected with AI technology.

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2024-09-10 09:09