Deepfake Scams Target Apple CEO Tim Cook During iPhone Launch

According to Cointelegraph, YouTube was inundated with livestreams featuring deepfakes of Apple CEO Tim Cook promoting crypto scams during the tech giant’s unveiling of its latest iPhones. On September 9, one such stream shared on X showed an AI-generated Cook urging viewers to send Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Tether (USDT), or Dogecoin (DOGE) to a 'contribution address,' promising to return double the amount. The AI-fake Cook claimed, 'Once you complete your deposit, the system will automatically process it and send back double the amount of the cryptocurrency you deposited.' These videos are part of a common 'double-your-money' scam where fraudsters keep the funds instead of returning them as promised. One of the scam streams appeared on a YouTube channel mimicking 'Apple US,' complete with a verification tick. Videos and screenshots shared on X showed some of these bogus streams garnering hundreds of thousands of views, likely boosted by bots to lend legitimacy. YouTube’s support team acknowledged the scam in a September 9 post on X, urging users to report the videos using the official reporting tool. The fraudulent videos have since been removed, and the associated accounts have been closed. YouTube did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the livestreams. The use of deepfake technology in scams is becoming increasingly bold, targeting high-profile individuals and events. In June, Australian broadcaster Seven had its YouTube news channel hijacked by crypto scammers who posted videos of a deepfake Elon Musk discussing cryptocurrency. Around the same time, YouTube was flooded with deepfake versions of Musk during the latest launch of SpaceX’s Starship rocket, asking users to deposit crypto into a fraudulent double-your-money scheme. Concerns about AI-generated content have surged in recent years, with the World Economic Forum highlighting potential adverse outcomes of AI technologies in its 2024 'Global Risks Report.'