Hong Kong Crypto Exchange Uses Elon Musk Deepfake to Promote Him as Lead Developer

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has issued a warning regarding deepfake scams infiltrating the cryptocurrency industry.

The commission revealed that a group operating under the name Quantum AI or AI Quantum resorted to using deepfake videos of renowned entrepreneur Elon Musk to deceive unsuspecting individuals into believing that he was the mastermind behind the platform.

It is essential to distinguish this group from NASA’s Quantum AI Lab (QuAIL), which focuses on quantum computing research and is unrelated to the fraudulent activities in question.

Scammers Turn to Deepfakes to Promote Scams

Exploiting the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence technology, scammers have increasingly turned to deepfakes as a means to defraud victims of their hard-earned money.

Deepfakes utilize AI algorithms to convincingly mimic the facial expressions and voice of a targeted individual, creating realistic video or audio clips.

Scammers employ deepfakes to establish video calls with their victims, using software to alter their own appearance and simulate the identity of the person they are impersonating.

One notorious group known as “The Yahoo Boys” from Nigeria has been employing deepfakes to carry out romance scams successfully.

The Hong Kong-based group implicated in this case claimed to offer cryptocurrency trading services backed by advanced artificial intelligence.

However, authorities suspect that the operation served as a facade for engaging in fraudulent activities related to virtual assets.

The group utilized three websites and two Facebook pages to carry out their crypto scams, as stated in the warning issued by the authorities.

To lend credibility to their scheme, the scammers employed deepfake videos featuring Elon Musk, falsely portraying him as the developer behind their technology.

They even went as far as creating a counterfeit “news” website to disseminate fabricated information about their services, further deceiving potential victims.

Taking swift action, Hong Kong police shut down all the group’s websites and social media pages.

However, the full extent of the damage caused by the scam remains unknown.

Elon Musk Deepfakes Used to Exploit Users

This isn’t the first instance of scammers exploiting deepfakes featuring Elon Musk to orchestrate fraudulent schemes. 

In a separate case in April, a South Korean woman fell victim to scammers who impersonated Musk on Instagram, resulting in a loss of $50,000.

The woman even engaged in a video call with the deepfake version of Musk, during which the imposter went as far as expressing affection.

“‘Musk even said ‘I love you, you know that?’ when we made a video call,” as explained by the victim on 60 Minutes.

As reported, Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister of Singapore, has also warned his social media followers regarding the use of deepfake videos that use his voice and image to promote cryptocurrency scams.

At the time, Loong even shared an example video of himself being interviewed, which was created by scammers to endorse a fraudulent “hands-free crypto trading” scheme.