Beware of deepfake videos of Elon Musk pushing cryptocurrency, North Bay police warn

The North Bay Police Service is warning the public about scams circulating online featuring deepfake videos of Elon Musk promoting cryptocurrency investments.

Officers have received several reports of AI-generated videos circulating online, police said in a news release Tuesday.

“The reported investment scams often use deepfakes to fraudulently present a successful or wealthy individual in an advertisement endorsing a product, service or investment that they are not in reality linked to,” police said.

Police spokesperson David Woolley said in an email to CTV News that “the public should be aware that the likenesses of other prominent individuals may also be used.”

“In these specific reports, the scam began as a link and video/image on social media, but further contact was made between scammers and potential victims,” Woolley said.

A deep fake is a manipulated video or image that uses artificial intelligence to alter or generate images, videos or audio. The technology can alter a person’s face, voice and actions in a video.

Be wary

To protect yourself, police said residents should be wary of sudden requests or offers.

“Don’t invest your money unless you have done your due diligence,” police said.

“Be aware that fraudsters can advertise fake businesses or investment platforms on search engines like Google and pay to have their ads at the top of a search. Just because it’s on Google or similar search engines doesn’t prove it is legitimate.”

Clicking a link can allow fraudsters to gain access to your computer, compromising banking and other private information.

If you are a victim of fraud or have information about this or similar scams, report it to the North Bay police at 1-705-497-5555 or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.