Fake SpaceX Solar Eclipse Livestreams Feature Deepfake Elon Musk Seeking Crypto Deposits

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Sujha Sundararajan

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Sujha Sundararajan

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April 9, 2024 06:53 EDT

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Fake Elon Musk YouTube streams supposedly promoting crypto schemes aren’t new. On Monday, total solar eclipse, that dazzled millions in the US, was allegedly livestreamed by a fake SpaceX YouTube channel.

The live telecast featured business tycoon and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s AI-generated speech, promoting a crypto investment scheme.

“The stream shows a deepfake of Elon Musk asking users to scan a QR code on the screen and deposit cryptocurrencies to have them doubled,” research group and iOS developer Mysk flagged first.

Woow! A verified @YouTube account is impersonating @SpaceX's account and airing a livestream about the solar eclipse. The stream shows a deepfake of Elon Musk asking users to scan a QR code on the screen and deposit cryptocurrencies to have them doubled. 95K users are watching… pic.twitter.com/A0B5XiAfUg

— Mysk 🇨🇦🇩🇪 (@mysk_co) April 8, 2024

“95K users are watching it. The domain name seems to be registered in Russia.”

The channel has 310K subscribers, rebranded to look similar to SpaceX. Mysk further noted that the video still live and appears among the first when searching for “solar eclipse livestream.”

Deepfake Elon Musk Speech Promotes Crypto Scam

Titled “Live: Solar Eclipse Spectacular 2024 of SpaceX,” the stream played a pre-recorded video of Musk, addressing a crowd. However, the video played an AI-generated voice of Elon Musk talking about a crypto investment opportunity and promising double returns.

According to a report from Mashable, the fake video had a QR code that read – “Eclipse of 2024 – Change your life,” calling viewers to scan and invest. Once they scan the QR Code, the link takes to a legit-looking scammer’s website impersonating SpaceX for their crypto scheme.

Some users also flagged live chats from fake Elon Musk’s account mentioning a big giveaway to commemorate total solar eclipse.

WOW what an OPPORTUNITY #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/Wl4bWQofCN

— Jason Paladino (@jason_paladino) April 8, 2024

The live chat also had a link to a scam website – eclipse-spaceX.com – hosted in Russia. A message from dupe Elon Musk said that 630 Bitcoin (BTC) and 5,200 Ethereum (ETH) “have already been sent to live stream viewers.”

This is not the first time SpaceX and Elon Musk videos have plagued YouTube. In October, a short video circulated showing Musk being interviewed, encouraging viewers in a clearly manipulated audio track to invest in the BitVex trading platform.

Following the crypto scam, Musk responded in brief to the Tweet, stressing that he is not involved in any such fake promotions.

“Yikes. Def not me,” the tech entrepreneur said at the time.

El País reported that impersonating media outlets and falsifying news became popular during the crypto boom. Twitter, in particular, is “the perfect breeding ground” for  deepfake crypto scams to “proliferate again.”