- Fraudsters attempt to scam FTX users with deepfake video of SBF.
- Deepfake technology has previously been used to successfully steal crypto from investors.
A deepfake video of FTX co-founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is being circulated online by fraudsters who are looking to steal funds from unwary users of the collapsed crypto exchange.
The video originated from a now-suspended verified Twitter account with the username ‘S4GE_ETH.’ In the footage reshared by Twitter user Jason Koebler, the likeness and voice of SBF is seen and heard telling investors that ‘F-DEX’ exchange is going bankrupt, but that they should not panic.
It further directs them to participate in a giveaway on a malicious website to get refunded their locked-up funds. However, the link to the giveaway is an obvious “double-your-crypto” scam where users send crypto to the scammer on the false promise that they will receive double back.
No victims of the scam have come out at present even as several Twitter users have pointed out that the deepfake video is of very poor quality and can be easily ousted as fake. Jason Hitchcock told his over 17,000 Twitter followers “If you fall for this I know a way to triple your crypto” in response to the video.
Meanwhile, the deepfake scam attempt is coming after Singaporean authorities issued a warning to locals to be aware of fraudsters looking to cash in on FTX’s collapse. The Nov. 19 warning reported by local news outlet Channel News Asia highlighted one website claiming to be hosted by the U.S. Justice Department and purportedly helps FTX’s customers recover their investment losses by supplying their FTX account login details.
At present, FTX victims do not have any tangible hope of recovering their funds from the exchange. In a recent court filing, John Ray III, the new CEO and chief restructuring officer of the now-bankrupt exchange said that the situation of the company is the worst he has seen in his entire career as a restructuring specialist.
Deepfake scams becoming more prevalent in the crypto space
The SBF video meanwhile is only the latest attempt by scammers to defraud investors with deepfake technology. Back in May, a deepfake video of Elon Musk was used to pump and dump a fraudulent crypto project, even catching the attention of the billionaire who dissociated himself from the footage.
Similarly, deepfake technology was used to drain more than $200,000 of liquidity from the Brazilian crypto exchange, BlueBenx in August. The scammers used Hologram AI to deepfake the likeness of Binance’s Chief Communications Officer (COO), Patrick Hillmann in a Zoom call to solicit funds from the exchange.
This adds to the problem of rampant scams and hacks that are ravaging the crypto industry and have seen over $3.6 billion stolen from the market in 2022 alone according to data from SlowMist.
Watch out for the this person who has a verified profile and tons of people from our community are following them. It’s easily deceptive (somehow I was even following them. i think our friend got compromised or something) pic.twitter.com/t52W5Ur8RI
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— ArtemysiaX.eth (@ArtemysiaX) November 19, 2022
