Just hours before SpaceX launched its Starship, scammers took advantage of the excitement by creating a fake YouTube channel.
This channel, which had 237,000 subscribers, featured live streams with a deepfake of Elon Musk.
The goal of this scam was to trick viewers into sending cryptocurrency by promising to double their money.
Starship launch, a historical event
The scammers cleverly used the buzz surrounding the SpaceX Starship launch to set up a convincing fake YouTube channel.
In the videos, a deepfake Elon Musk appeared to speak about cryptocurrency’s importance while standing in front of what looked like a SpaceX Starship.
This setup wanted to attract viewers who might be feeling anxious about their investments, especially those involved in speculative assets like memecoins.
The scammers promised that if viewers sent at least 0.1 BTC, 1 ETH, or 20,000 DOGE, they would receive double the amount back.
This was clearly a fraudulent scheme tied to the excitement of the SpaceX event.
Deepfake danger
The heart of this fraud was the deepfake version of Elon Musk. During the live stream, Musk discussed how cryptocurrency is the future and compared it to gold.
He claimed that while the best time to invest was years ago, the second-best time is now.
Viewers were encouraged to scan a QR code that led them to a website where they could connect their crypto wallets and send funds, with promises of receiving double their investment within minutes.
Musk even claimed that major companies like Tesla and SpaceX were backing this crypto event, with a total reward pool of $1 million.
It may seem unbelievable that anyone could fall for such a scheme, but seeing someone who looks like Elon Musk discussing cryptocurrency can easily mislead unaware people.
While some viewers might have noticed flaws in the deepfake, many were likely drawn in by the convincing visuals and timing of the event.
Scammers have previously used schemes involving Elon Musk, but this particular execution may have been especially effective due to its timing.
Behind the scam
The fraudulent activity centered around one compromised account known as the Grimmjack Channel.
According to reports from Reddit users, this channel was hacked and repurposed for the SpaceX crypto scam, taking advantage of its existing subscriber base.
The scammers even ran multiple live streams on this single channel, looping the same pre-recorded deepfake video repeatedly.
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