Fake Elon Musk YouTube Streams Target Crypto Users Amid Solar Eclipse Hype
Everyone is talking about the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. From news articles to social media, there are numerous discussions about it. If you go to YouTube, you will see dozens of live streaming of the eclipse. However, it is best to exercise caution. Not all of them are authentic. Bogus live feeds have sprung up on YouTube impersonating SpaceX channels and even featuring AI-generated statements from Elon Musk. What is their goal? Tricking people and stealing their cryptocurrency.
Woow! A verified @YouTube account is impersonating @SpaceX's account and airing a livestream about the solar eclipse. The stream shows a deepfake of Elon Musk asking users to scan a QR code on the screen and deposit cryptocurrencies to have them doubled. 95K users are watching… pic.twitter.com/A0B5XiAfUg
— Mysk 🇨🇦🇩🇪 (@mysk_co) April 8, 2024
Tempting QR codes
Each of these streams has a similar routine. You will watch a video of Elon Musk speaking to a crowd while standing close to the SpaceX logo. But here's the catch: everything is pre-recorded, and the voice isn't Elon Musk's. It's a phony voice created by AI. In the video, this fake Elon Musk discusses an incredible opportunity to double your cryptocurrency assets. This video has a QR code with the words, "Eclipse of 2024 - Change your Life." It prompts you to scan the code. When you do, you will be directed to a website where you can immediately invest your cryptocurrency like Bitcoin or Ether. Sometimes, these streams even have a fake Elon Musk account chatting live. It tells viewers about the supposed investments they're getting and keeps spamming links in the chat, claiming they'll lead you to where you can invest too.
Popular fake streams
One of these fake streams had a title that said, "2024 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of SpaceX." At one point, it had over 210,000 people watching at the same time. Another live stream, titled "Live: Solar Eclipse Spectacular 2024 of SpaceX" had approximately 100,000 individuals watching simultaneously. These streams have been running for hours and are shared on YouTube channels with hundreds of thousands of subscribers. Fake videos claiming to be from SpaceX and Elon Musk are not new on YouTube. The fact that they are so popular indicates that scammers find them profitable.
WOW what an OPPORTUNITY #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/Wl4bWQofCN
— Jason Paladino (@jason_paladino) April 8, 2024
Previous legal action
Steve Wozniak sued YouTube several years ago for identical films. They used impersonations of the Apple co-founders to promote Bitcoin schemes. As previously stated, many of these scammers employ channels with large numbers of subscribers. However, these channels did not get subscribers by pretending to be SpaceX. They alter the channel name to SpaceX just before starting their false webcast. They intend to make it look like an official SpaceX account.
However, because the name changes are recent, there are still hints on the page that the channel previously had a completely different name. Scammers frequently get stolen channels or purchase accounts from questionable sources on social media.
This time they pretended to be Elon Musk and SpaceX. Scammers targeted content regarding Musk and SpaceX because it normally attracts a lot of attention on YouTube.
There has been no official statement so far, but it seems like the company is aware of the issue and taking necessary action.
