On September 9, scammers flooded YouTube with deepfake videos of Apple CEO Tim Cook, aiming to trick viewers into investing in cryptocurrencies. The scam coincided with Apple’s “Glowtime” event, where the company launched its iPhone 16 models.
The scam livestreams involved an AI-generated Tim Cook telling the 350K viewers to send Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, or Dogecoin to a ‘contribution address’ and get double of the amount they sent. “Once you complete your deposit, the system will automatically process it and send back double the amount of cryptocurrency you deposited,” the fake Cook said.
Such scams are commonly referred to as ‘double-your-money’ schemes where the scammers ask users to send their crypto in exchange for a promise to double their amount. In fact, the scammers get to keep the money.
One of the fake livestreams was created on a channel that was a clone of “Apple US” and had a verified badge next to its name. Most of these streams attracted hundreds of thousands of viewers, however, it is important to note that many of these views may have been fake accounts set up to make the stream look more legitimate.
YouTube’s support team confirmed the problem in the September 9 X (formerly Twitter) message and asked the users to report the fake videos. The scam livestreams have since been taken down, and the accounts linked to the scams have been deactivated. YouTube has not yet responded to requests for further comment.
It is now possible to see deepfake scams that involve high-profile personalities and significant events. In June, there was another such case of a deepfake of Elon Musk endorsing crypto scams during SpaceX’s Starship rocket launch.
With the progression of AI in content creation, such scams are being anticipated more and more. The World Economic Forum’s 2024 “Global Risks Report” has pointed to the increasing threats linked to AI technologies.