August 16, 2024 – According to a report by The New York Times on the 14th, Elon Musk’s image has been used in thousands of fake advertisements through AI-generated “deepfakes,” resulting in billions of dollars in fraud.
The report highlights the story of Steve Beauchamp, an 82-year-old retiree, who fell victim to this scam. Seeking a way to support his family, Steve was drawn to a video featuring an “AI Musk” endorsing a high-risk, high-reward investment opportunity. He reached out to the company behind the advertisement and opened an account with $248.
Over the course of several weeks, Steve invested over $690,000 from his retirement fund, which was ultimately “stolen” by the scam group.
These fraudulent advertisements were created by editing real interviews of Musk and using AI to replicate his voice and mouth movements. The production cost of these videos is mere dollars and can be completed in minutes. For the average viewer, these manipulations are often difficult to detect, as the AI-generated content accurately reproduces Musk’s distinctive monotone voice and South African accent.
In recent months, the internet has been flooded with thousands of such AI-generated fake videos featuring Musk. These videos have deceived numerous potential investors. According to Deloitte’s estimations, AI-driven deepfake content is expected to cause billions of dollars in fraud losses annually.
