Surely the most modern scam circulating online right now. A new type of scam has recently been spotted on social networks, and in particular on TikTok: it is a fake advertisement in which Elon Musk offers bitcoins.
The video circulating is obviously false. The crooks used the "deepfake" technique to make the CEO of X (ex-Twitter), Tesla and SpaceX say anything, reports Bleeping Computer relayed by Phonandroid. In the announcement, we see the billionaire explain, as part of a television interview, that he organizes a donation of cryptocurrencies.
A donation of 8,600 euros
These videos are now posted hourly on TikTok. Other simpler ads simply invite the user to click on a link and enter a promotional code in order to receive bitcoins for free. All ads link to fake cryptocurrency investment platforms.
To receive this "donation", victims are invited to create an account and enter the indicated promo code that allows you to obtain no less than 0.34 bitcoin, or more than 8,600 euros. However, the platform forces users to activate their account by depositing the equivalent of 127 euros in Bitcoin. Sum that they will obviously never see again. The harm can go even further, with some platforms inviting the victim to give access to their real cryptocurrency wallets.
According to a report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the equivalent of 80 million dollars (75 million euros) has been stolen from many people in this way since October 2020. The situation recently prompted the Better Business Bureau to issue a warning about these cryptocurrency scams on TikTok, says Bleeping Computer.
- Scam
- Elon Musk
- Bitcoin
- Fraud
- TikTok
- Deepfake
- Tech