Software company Gen Digital said there was a significant increase in cryptocurrency scams utilizing AI deepfake videos in the second quarter of 2024, Cointelegraph reported. Gen Digital's portfolio includes antivirus software companies such as Norton, Avast and Avira.
Gen Digital said in its quarterly report that they tracked a group called "CryptoCore" that used AI deep fake videos to defraud cryptocurrency holders. The group faked crypto investments and used official videos of well-known figures such as Elon Musk, Michael Saylor, Vitalik Buterin and Larry Fink to commit fraud.
Gen Digital said the criminal groups spread the videos on social media platforms such as YouTube, X and TikTok, and used hacked social media accounts to conduct live broadcasts to promote scams.
Cybercriminals are expanding their toolkits with new technologies like AI to make their scams more sophisticated and convincing, said Siggi Stefnisson, chief technology officer at Gen Digital, which reported that the CryptoCore group siphoned off $5 million in cryptocurrency last quarter through such attacks.
During SpaceX's integrated flight test in June, Gen Digital estimated that 50 YouTube accounts were hijacked, resulting in 500 unauthorized transactions and theft of $1.4 million.
In August, Avast also conducted an in-depth investigation into CryptoCore and found that the most common topics for scams using AI deep fake videos include SpaceX, MicroStrategy, Ripple, Tesla, BlackRock, and Cardano.