A Woman Loses $50,000 Thinking Elon Musk Was Telling Her 'I Love You' And Wanted To Make Her Rich — But It Was An Elaborate Deepfake Scam

A South Korean woman was deceived into transferring $50,000 to a scammer impersonating Elon Musk through advanced deepfake technology. 

The scam, which involved artificial intelligence (AI)-generated photos and a deepfake video call, highlights the growing menace of technology-facilitated fraud.

The victim, referred to by the pseudonym Jeong Ji-sun, encountered the impersonator on Instagram in July 2023. According to Ji-sun, the scammer provided AI-generated images of what appeared to be Musk's ID card and him at work, which gradually convinced her of the authenticity of the person she was communicating with. 

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"Although I have been a huge fan of Musk after reading his biography, I doubted it at first," Ji-sun told The Korea Herald. "‘Musk' sent me his ID card and a photo of him at work. He also explained that he contacts fans randomly."

The deception deepened with a video call where the fake Musk confessed his love for Ji-sun, further manipulating her emotions. 

"Musk' even said ‘I love you, you know that?' when we made a video call," Ji-sun said. 

Convinced she was dealing with the real Musk, Ji-sun was persuaded to transfer 70 million Korean won ($50,000) to a bank account she was told was that of Musk's Korean employee. The scammer promised lucrative returns on her investment, leveraging her trust to commit the fraud. 

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The case is part of a disturbing trend observed globally. In 2022, the Federal Trade Commission reported that romance scams had cost victims $1.3 billion. The emergence of AI and deepfake technology is compounding the challenge, making it difficult to verify identities on social media and dating platforms. The FBI has also highlighted a significant rise in deepfake-related criminal activities, emphasizing the urgent need for awareness and technological safeguards against such sophisticated scams. It is crucial to remain vigilant and verify the sources of digital content to prevent falling prey to deceptive practices.

According to Norton, you can identify a deepfake by looking for certain visual discrepancies: abnormal skin tones, discoloration, unusual lighting and misplaced shadows can all indicate that an image may be fabricated. Hair that appears too perfect, lacking frizz or flyaways, suggests that the image might not accurately capture these intricate details, pointing to the use of artificial generation.

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