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On YouTube, I saw a deepfake of Elon Musk asking people to scan a QR code and buy crypto.

pixl97 2y ago
Yep these are super common, especially on days spacex is launching starship. They only live broadcast it on X so it allows these scammers to step in and attempt to trick people.
- h4kor 2y ago
  I watched the last starship launch on a scam YouTube stream. It was 30 minutes delayed, which a thought was because Musk wanted to promote Twitter. They said multiple times that Elon will announce something big after the launch. Directly after lift off it cut to Elon holding a speech and I only noticed this been a scam channel when he talked about the QR code and crypto.
  - yamumsahoe 2y ago
    same. stopped watching youtube live after this, realize that every live video could be a scam or distorted or modified or outdated in any way. weird.
6510 2y ago
When I typed my phone number in the box on "Musk" "investment" website my landline rang instantly after entering the last digit. It was definitely an onkeydown event. A friendly fast talking man in an extremely busy sounding (fake) call center asked me if I was $name_I_put_in_the_form. The voices in the background were people further down the sign up process. I said yes, then asked how he got my number. He said I just filled out the form on the website. Then the form was replaced by a new page. They did a good job confusing me, it was very impressive. I don't confuse easily.
- desolved 2y ago
  Why did you do that? Did you think it was real?
  - 6510 2y ago
    For laughs
    - backspace_ 2y ago
      Now they have a recording of you saying yes that can used to justify signing you up for services that you never intended to.
      - OccamsMirror 2y ago
        Could also be used to generate his voice and scam his relatives.
      - lukan 2y ago
        That "yes" for other services cam be contested easily, though, without ever paying anything. It is still stress I would avoid.
- nradov 2y ago
  It sounds like you confuse easily?
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
- throwaway2037 2y ago
  Share your story with "Kit Boga" on YouTube. He would love to prank them.
add-sub-mul-div 2y ago
Imagine getting scammed by a deepfake of Musk when you'd actually set out to get scammed by the man himself.
- advael 2y ago
  I mean it seems simpler to just buy a cybertruck if that's what you want
  - kombookcha 2y ago
    Can't lose your finger to the QR code scam. One hopes.
nubinetwork 2y ago
On twitch this a daily occurrence... and not just elon, it's mrbeast, kaicenat, and ishowspeed as well. (That is, on top of all the other "free drops/skins" impersonation that twitch can't seem to shut down)
- snowfield 2y ago
  They shut them down pretty much right away, but they pop back up right away too. And they usually viewbot to the top of the front page. Seems like a fairly simple thing to solve though, limit ages of accounts needed to be featured etc
  - nubinetwork 2y ago
    I wouldn't be surprised if alot of the viewbots are using the same pool of IP addresses. Blocking VPNs, VPSes, tor, and ranges with large amounts of bans would probably help. On the other hand, twitch keeps firing employees, so they probably just ban the stream account every 20 minutes because they don't have the manpower.
    - simfree 2y ago
      There are a ton of sketchy browser plugins that form VPN relay networks. I would be very surprised if they are not using a new, clean residential IP on a US ISP for each and every account.
    - Grimblewald 2y ago
      does twitch auto-generate subtitles? just mine what is being transcribed for signs of being likely to be a scam.
      - Grimblewald 2y ago
        kids starving in Africa doesn't mean families struggling to put food on the table for their kids in America have an ideal situation. Grim is relative to local conditions, not global ones. Grim is an expression of an environments impact on the psyche and will to live.
kazinator 2y ago
> asking people to scan a QR code and buy crypto That's necessary for realism. If the deepfake were doing or saying something decent, that would be a dead giveaway.

Yep these are super common, especially on days spacex is launching starship. They only live broadcast it on X so it allows these scammers to step in and attempt to trick people.

h4kor 2y ago
I watched the last starship launch on a scam YouTube stream. It was 30 minutes delayed, which a thought was because Musk wanted to promote Twitter. They said multiple times that Elon will announce something big after the launch. Directly after lift off it cut to Elon holding a speech and I only noticed this been a scam channel when he talked about the QR code and crypto.
- yamumsahoe 2y ago
  same. stopped watching youtube live after this, realize that every live video could be a scam or distorted or modified or outdated in any way. weird.

6510 2y ago

When I typed my phone number in the box on "Musk" "investment" website my landline rang instantly after entering the last digit. It was definitely an onkeydown event. A friendly fast talking man in an extremely busy sounding (fake) call center asked me if I was $name_I_put_in_the_form. The voices in the background were people further down the sign up process. I said yes, then asked how he got my number. He said I just filled out the form on the website. Then the form was replaced by a new page. They did a good job confusing me, it was very impressive. I don't confuse easily.

desolved 2y ago
Why did you do that? Did you think it was real?
- 6510 2y ago
  For laughs
  - backspace_ 2y ago
    Now they have a recording of you saying yes that can used to justify signing you up for services that you never intended to.
    - OccamsMirror 2y ago
      Could also be used to generate his voice and scam his relatives.
    - lukan 2y ago
      That "yes" for other services cam be contested easily, though, without ever paying anything. It is still stress I would avoid.
nradov 2y ago
It sounds like you confuse easily?
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
throwaway2037 2y ago
Share your story with "Kit Boga" on YouTube. He would love to prank them.

add-sub-mul-div 2y ago

Imagine getting scammed by a deepfake of Musk when you'd actually set out to get scammed by the man himself.

advael 2y ago
I mean it seems simpler to just buy a cybertruck if that's what you want
- kombookcha 2y ago
  Can't lose your finger to the QR code scam. One hopes.

nubinetwork 2y ago

On twitch this a daily occurrence... and not just elon, it's mrbeast, kaicenat, and ishowspeed as well. (That is, on top of all the other "free drops/skins" impersonation that twitch can't seem to shut down)

snowfield 2y ago
They shut them down pretty much right away, but they pop back up right away too. And they usually viewbot to the top of the front page. Seems like a fairly simple thing to solve though, limit ages of accounts needed to be featured etc
- nubinetwork 2y ago
  I wouldn't be surprised if alot of the viewbots are using the same pool of IP addresses. Blocking VPNs, VPSes, tor, and ranges with large amounts of bans would probably help. On the other hand, twitch keeps firing employees, so they probably just ban the stream account every 20 minutes because they don't have the manpower.
  - simfree 2y ago
    There are a ton of sketchy browser plugins that form VPN relay networks. I would be very surprised if they are not using a new, clean residential IP on a US ISP for each and every account.
  - Grimblewald 2y ago
    does twitch auto-generate subtitles? just mine what is being transcribed for signs of being likely to be a scam.
    - Grimblewald 2y ago
      kids starving in Africa doesn't mean families struggling to put food on the table for their kids in America have an ideal situation. Grim is relative to local conditions, not global ones. Grim is an expression of an environments impact on the psyche and will to live.

kazinator 2y ago

> asking people to scan a QR code and buy crypto That's necessary for realism. If the deepfake were doing or saying something decent, that would be a dead giveaway.