Cryptocurrency fraudsters conducted a fake distribution of digital tokens on behalf of Elon Musk

Amid the news of the launch of the world’s new most powerful space rocket, cryptocurrency fraudsters were able to conduct a fake cryptocurrency distribution on behalf of SpaceX owner Elon Musk. The incident occurred on November 18.

The cryptocurrency giveaway was accompanied by a video broadcast on YouTube with the billionaire’s handle. The person in the video spoke with a generated voice. To participate in the virtual coin giveaway, participants first had to send cryptocurrency to the donor addresses and wait for the transaction to be processed. «After that, they were promised to return the cryptocurrency to their wallets, but with a 200% bonus,» said cybersecurity analysts who tracked the activities of crypto fraudsters. All videos of fake giveaways have now been removed.

Earlier, XRP cryptocurrency owners warned each other about a fraud using a dipfake — attackers disguised themselves as Ripple CEO, announcing a fake token distribution.

According to analysts of the British bank Lloyds, the number of complaints about crypto fraud received from customers from January to September 2023 increased by 23% compared to the same period in 2022.

As a reminder, on November 15, the value of the Grok token, whose developers were «inspired» by Elon Musk’s AI-based chatbot, soared by 13,000%. According to analytical trackers, 11,000 users currently own Grok tokens. According to DEXTools, the largest holders of the virtual coin have unrealized profits ranging from $ 2.1 million to $ 6 million. However, the available liquidity of the GROK/USD pair is only $ 3.5 million. This means that one large token sale can completely collapse the value of Grok.