Crypto Scammers Exploit AI Deepfakes to Push Fake Giveaways With Trump and Musk

  news.bitcoin.com 7 h

The evolution of deepfake scams has reached new levels of sophistication with the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), making fraudulent schemes increasingly convincing and difficult to detect. A recent example involves a deepfake of U.S. President Donald Trump circulating on X, attempting to lure unsuspecting individuals into a cryptocurrency scam.

AI-Generated Trump, Musk, and Buterin Videos Spread Across X, Promoting Crypto Scams

While generative AI has driven groundbreaking advancements, it has also amplified the threat of deepfake scams. The widespread availability and decreasing cost of generative AI tools have placed these technologies within reach of even the most underfunded fraudsters, allowing them to produce strikingly realistic counterfeit media with minimal effort.

In the past, digital deception relied on manipulated images and fabricated websites. Now, hyper-realistic videos featuring voices nearly indistinguishable from the real thing are making their way across the internet, heightening the challenge of separating fact from fiction.

While no scam websites are linked in this article, the X accounts behind these fraudulent schemes are very real. It is strongly recommended to avoid engaging with these X accounts or the websites they promote. Even briefly visiting one of these fraudulent sites could have unintended and potentially harmful consequences.

One particular fake video shared this week, features Donald Trump in an interview with Maria Bartiromo, which was probably edited from one of their previous interviews. In the artificially generated and deceptively edited video, the AI-altered Trump declares, “Share this all over the world. I will be doing a $20 million crypto giveaway with Elon Musk at [scam website] starting now.”

The fake Bartiromo then asks, “How do I join?” “Just visit the website [scam website],” Trump replies in the video. “It’s just a few quick steps. It shouldn’t take longer than three minutes.” To this, Bartiromo enthusiastically responds:

I am definitely joining.

These videos are scattered across X, especially in the reply sections of posts linked to crypto media and influencers. Notably, each Trump deepfake we uncovered featured a different URL, though some of the sites are repeated across multiple videos. A Whois search reveals that all these fraudulent Trump-related websites were created on March 12, 2025, and registered privately through Nicenic. Further scrutiny of the X accounts distributing these videos suggests this is not their first attempt at spreading AI-generated scams.

These same users have been discovered sharing all of the same deepfake AI videos including the latest Trump video and a deepfake video of Vitalik Buterin.

Another deepfake video we discovered shared by this cohort features Elon Musk alongside Tucker Carlson. In the manipulated footage, Musk states, “I will be doing a $20 million crypto giveaway at [scam website] starting now.” Carlson then asks, “How do I join?” Musk proceeds to deliver the exact same scripted response as the fake Trump video, and Carlson, mirroring the deepfake Bartiromo, declares he will “definitely be joining.” The video ends with both men laughing, further amplifying the illusion of authenticity.

This fabricated video of Vitalik Buterin is yet another deceptive creation, and every website linked to the recent Trump, Musk, and Buterin deepfake scams was registered this year through Nicenic with private domain details.

Furthermore, the scammers are pushing a deepfake of Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin. Once again the video is an interview setting and Buterin is asked by the interviewer, “What is Ethereum Arbitrage Bot?” The phony Buterin then states, “Ethereum developers team have created Arbitrage Bot for the passive income like staking.” In broken English, the interviewer says, “How we can join it?” The counterfeit Buterin then says, “Just visit website [scam website], it is just a few quick steps to set up the bot that should take longer than ten minutes.”

The X accounts distributing these deepfake videos appear to have been purchased rather than newly created, as many date back to 2019, 2014, and 2020. Some of the scammers didn’t even bother deleting posts from the accounts’ previous owners, leaving behind a digital breadcrumb trail. Additionally, several of these accounts have been spotted promoting other scams, such as XRP doubling schemes, where victims are enticed to deposit XRP with the false promise of receiving twice the amount. In reality, no one ever gets the promised payout—the deposited XRP is simply stolen.

While these fraudulent schemes may be easy to recognize for some, unsuspecting individuals could easily be deceived, drawn in by the convincing nature of the deepfake videos, and tricked into visiting these fraudulent websites.

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