The ongoing issue of fake Elon Musk livestream scams on YouTube shows no signs of stopping. Scammers have found a way to exploit the platform to perpetrate their fraudulent activities. These scams typically involve broadcasting a video that appears to be a live event featuring Elon Musk speaking at a Tesla conference or similar event. The scammers often use real footage of Musk on a loop, with either a fake AI-generated voice or generic audio from a Musk speech.
What makes these scams particularly effective is the use of hijacked YouTube channels. These channels already have a large number of subscribers, which means there is a built-in audience for the scammers to target. YouTube notifies subscribers when a channel they follow goes live, so the scammers can take advantage of this by changing the name of the channel to make it appear official. In one recent case, a hacked channel with over 10,000 subscribers and YouTube verification was renamed “Tesla” with the handle “@elon.teslastream.”
The scammers also use on-screen graphics during the livestreams to make it appear as if Musk is talking specifically about cryptocurrency. They include links or QR codes to the crypto scam, urging viewers to take advantage of the opportunity before the livestream ends. This combination of fake livestreams, hijacked channels, and targeted messaging makes these scams highly convincing.
It’s unclear how many of the viewers during these livestreams are real people. YouTube promotes and recommends livestreams based on the number of users currently watching. It’s possible that some of the viewers are bots, artificially inflating the viewership numbers in order to game the YouTube algorithm and push the video into more users’ feeds.
While Elon Musk and Tesla are commonly used in these scams, scammers have also altered their strategy at times. For example, there was a SpaceX version of the scam that took advantage of the solar eclipse to promote their crypto scheme on YouTube.
This issue has been ongoing for several years, with scammers using the likeness of prominent figures like Steve Wozniak to promote Bitcoin scams on YouTube. Despite legal action and increased awareness, these fake YouTube livestream schemes show no signs of disappearing anytime soon. It’s a reminder to stay vigilant and skeptical when encountering livestreams or investment opportunities online, especially those involving high-profile individuals like Elon Musk.
