Scammer Uses Deepfake Of FTX Founder Samuel Bankman-Fried To Drain Customers’ Wallets
A verified Twitter account posing as the FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried utilized deepfake technology to scam users. Multiple videos by the account were uploaded, offering users "compensation" for their recent losses.
Millions of people lost their investments in the cryptocurrency exchange FTX earlier this month. Now, scammers are taking advantage of the vulnerable individuals who fell victim to FTX's misfortunes. One verified Twitter account (@s4ge_ETH) uploaded a series of videos that showed a deepfake of Sam Bankman-Fried to trick users. The account also had a blue checkmark, the CEO’s handle known as “SBF,” and his profile picture.
“Hello everyone, as you know our FTX exchange is going bankrupt,” the voice in the clip starts off saying, “but I hasten to inform all users that you should not panic. As compensation for the loss, we have prepared a giveaway for you, in which you can double your cryptocurrency.”
The scammer then tells listeners to visit a website where they can enter this “giveaway.” “Biggest giveaway crypto of $100,000,000,” was reportedly written on the page. “Send the desired number of coins to the special address below. Once we receive your transaction, we will immediately send the requested amount back to you. You can only take part in our giveaway once. Hurry up!”
While there are people that have fallen for the scam, it seems there’s only just over $1,000 in the Ethereum wallet associated with the website. So far, it has been reported that $1 to $2 billion in customer funds are missing from FTX. Let’s hope no one loses more from these phishing scams.
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