- Michael Saylor, founder and CEO of MicroStrategy, sent out a tweet warning the community of videos promising to double investors’ Bitcoin.
- The videos are AI-generated Deepfakes impersonating Saylor, who claims his team has to remove about 80 such videos every single day.
- YouTube is one of many social media platforms that are unfortunately brimming with fake content and crypto scams.
- If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
The immense power of generative artificial intelligence is a modern marvel. Whether you’re a musician who needs help mastering their masterpiece, an amateur videographer looking for an editor, or you can’t be bothered researching your own travel itinerary – AI has you covered. But the age-old cliche “with great power comes great responsibility” rings true here. AI is as impressive as it is scary. People have been writing science fiction novels for decades on the potential risks of artificial intelligence, and with applications like Deepfake, it appears that some of those fears are coming to fruition.
Saylor’s Team Removes 80 Fake Videos a Day
Michael Saylor, the millionaire in charge of crypto-friendly tech giant MicroStrategy (MSI), yesterday sent a tweet warning his followers of fake AI-generated YouTube videos impersonating him. Most of these videos are a new-era form of phishing scam, where the fraudsters will use AI to mimic a celebrity “promising” viewers some sort of financial reward. In Saylor’s case, the scammers often pledge to “double your Bitcoins” if you scan a barcode and send BTC to a certain crypto wallet.
Of course, such a ridiculous promise immediately raises warning signs, but the realistic nature of Deepfake technology does make people more susceptible than they otherwise would be. Saylor commented on the prevalence of such videos:
“There is no risk-free way to double your Bitcoin…My team takes down about 80 fake AI-generated YouTube videos every day, but the scammers keep launching more. Don’t trust, verify”.
Unfortunately, the crypto world has long been rife with scams. In 2020 for example, Elon Musk, Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s Twitter accounts were hacked, with the high-profile men supposedly asking people to send BTC to a certain address in exchange for… you guessed it, doubling their money.
Navigating the crypto universe requires vigilance. Keep the phrase “too good to be true” in mind whenever you come across any sort of lucrative investment opportunity. Chances are, it’s a scam. Always cross-reference all information you get through multiple sources – as even reliable spokespeople can now be impersonated thanks to artificial intelligence.
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