Florida man lost $45,000 on an AI-generated Elon Musk scam
www.independent.co.uk
The 69-year-old was reportedly targeted after he posted in a Facebook group advertising Elon Musk car giveaways

cross-posted from: https://reddthat.com/post/56223456

George Hendricks, a 69-year-old from Leesburg, a suburb of Orlando, told ClickOrlando he lost $45,000 after a scammer targeted him with a deepfake video of Musk. Deepfakes are digitally-altered videos often used to impersonate notable public figures.

Now, Hendricks tells the outlet that his wife “wants to get a divorce” over the scam.

  • SatyrSack@quokk.auEnglish
    22·
    1 day ago

    Based on the title, I figured the scam was just that he was basically trying to purchase a vehicle from an illegitimate website and simply didn’t receive anything. And if that were the case, I could kind of forgive the victim. But reading the article… the scammers told the victim they won a car, then asked for them to pay for shipping, down payments, and other arbitrary investments. No, I cannot forgive someone who thought Musk was asking strangers for donations.

    In the video, obtained by ClickOrlando, an AI-generated, deepfake version of Musk said: “My good friend Mr. George, I just want you to listen to what I’m telling you. I promise that you’re going to receive your package.”

    Hendricks was told he had to pay $7,500 in cash for the car’s shipping, which he sent to the scammers. He was also asked to make a $10,000 investment and was promised a $120,000 return, the outlet reports.

    After exchanging several messages with the scammers, he says he drained his accounts and sent them nearly $37,000 more.

    At one point, Hendricks even told the scammers he was concerned about their requests, the outlet reports. But then, they sent Hendricks another video message, which said: “I’d never take advantage of you or your funds. Trust me with your whole heart. God knows I have no bad intentions.”

    • Echo Dot@feddit.ukEnglish
      7·
      1 day ago

      It’s kind of worrying that that’s all it took to get him to drain his bank account. The Elon Musk deep fake was probably unnecessary, he seems like the type to fall for the very obvious Nigerian Prince scam of old.

      The old saying goes, it’s impossible to fool and honest man, and I don’t know if that’s necessarily true or not, but it’s definitely easier to con someone who genuinely thinks it’s posable to get something for nothing. People like that tend to not take responsibility for their own lives and think that the world owes them something. People like that are a con man’s best friend.