Crypto scammers used deepfake technology to create fake live YouTube videos of President Trump promoting Bitcoin investment scams, urging viewers to send Bitcoin in exchange for doubled returns.
Crypto scammers created deepfake videos of U.S. President Donald Trump appearing to promote Bitcoin investment scams on YouTube Live. The videos featured Trump at what appeared to be a NATO press event from June 25 in the Netherlands, but with his voice artificially generated to urge viewers to scan QR codes and send Bitcoin to specified addresses in exchange for double returns. The deepfake technology made Trump's voice and speaking style highly believable, with lip-syncing that appeared natural at first glance. Multiple versions of these fraudulent videos were uploaded to YouTube, with some recording thousands of viewers before being suspended. The videos included QR codes and text saying 'Scan QR or regret' and featured Trump incorrectly referring to himself as the 45th President. While some videos were eventually removed by YouTube, many duplicate versions remained active. The incident exploits Trump's known crypto-friendly political positioning and his association with legitimate crypto ventures, which has created confusion among his followers about which Trump-related crypto projects are legitimate.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
Using AI systems to gain a personal advantage over others such as through cheating, fraud, scams, blackmail or targeted manipulation of beliefs or behavior. Examples include AI-facilitated plagiarism for research or education, impersonating a trusted or fake individual for illegitimate financial benefit, or creating humiliating or sexual imagery.
Human
Due to a decision or action made by humans
Intentional
Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed