365Crypto
Scammers Trick Viewers with Fake Tim Cook
During Apple’s iPhone 16 launch on September 9, scammers used a deepfake of Apple CEO Tim Cook to promote a cryptocurrency scam. The fake video, streamed on YouTube, asked viewers to send Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, or Dogecoin to a specific wallet address, promising to double the amount sent. This type of scam, known as a “double-your-money” scheme, never returns the promised funds; instead, scammers keep all the deposits.
YouTube Livestreams Flooded with Fake Videos
The scam videos were made to look official, with some streams labeled under fake accounts like “Apple US,” complete with verification marks. Some videos gained hundreds of thousands of views, though many of these were likely from bots designed to make the streams seem legitimate.
YouTube’s Response to the Scam
YouTube’s support team acknowledged the scam and urged users to report fake videos through its official reporting tool. As of now, the scam videos have been taken down, and the accounts behind them have been removed.
Rise of Deepfake Scams
Deepfake technology has increasingly been used by scammers to impersonate high-profile figures. In June, a similar scam involved a deepfake of Elon Musk promoting a crypto scheme, which targeted viewers during a SpaceX event.
Technical Terms
- Deepfake: Artificially generated videos or images that convincingly imitate real people.
- Double-your-money scam: A type of fraud where victims are promised a doubled return on any amount of cryptocurrency they send but receive nothing in return.
