As per the recent news, we came to know that scammers are promoting a BitVex trading platform fraud that steals deposited funds by exploiting deep fake videos of Elon Musk and other notable crypto enthusiasts. This fraudulent BitVex bitcoin trading platform claims to be controlled by Elon Musk, who claims to have created it to allow anyone to make up to 30% returns on their crypto investments. Threat actors created or hacked into existing YouTube accounts earlier this month to broadcast deep fake clips of Elon Musk, Cathie Wood, Brad Garlinghouse, Michael Saylor, and Charles Hoskinson.
These videos are real interviews that have been altered with deep fake techniques to use the subject’s voice in a script written by the threat actors. As per the sources, one of the scam films, in which it shows that Elon promotes the new fraud site and claims to have invested $50 million in it.
About the Scam
While it is clear that the interviews have been doctored to imitate Elon Musk’s voice to promote the BitVex trading platform, there are numerous additional signs that this is a ruse. Many YouTube channels advertising this trading platform have been hijacked, causing YouTube videos or YouTube Shorts to appear on the site. When you browse the BitVex trading website, it becomes clear that this is a scam. One of the scams where Musk is the trading platform’s CEO and includes testimonials from Cathie Wood of Ark Invest and Changpeng Zhao of Binance.
Using the BitVex Platform
To utilize the BitVex investment platform, users must first create an account at “bitvex.org” or “bitvex.net”. After logging up, the site will show you a dashboard where you may deposit crypto, choose an investing plan, and collect your gains. To make the site appear real, the dashboard, like almost all crypto frauds, would list recent withdrawals of various cryptos, as illustrated below.
These withdrawals, on the other hand, are made using JavaScript, which selects one of five alternative cryptocurrencies such as – Cardano, Ethereum, Bitcoin, Ripple, or Binance Coin, and produces transaction amounts at random. With each page refresh, the false withdrawals are altered at random. While it may seem unlikely that anyone would fall for these programs, threat actors have been known to make millions of dollars through fraudulent crypto giveaways and investment programs.
Earlier Incidents with Crypto Frauds
According to the sources, a fraudulent Elon Musk crypto gift scam made $580k in one week in January 2021. Recently, there was an Ark Invest-themed YouTube scam that took $1.3 million by simply re-streaming a modified video of an old live panel discussion on crypto with Ark Invest’s Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey, and Cathie Wood.
The FTC issued a study warning that $80 million had been lost to crypto investment frauds since October 2020, indicating that they have become so widespread and successful. As a result, it’s critical to understand that practically every cryptocurrency giveaway site is a ruse, particularly those claiming to be from Elon Musk, Tesla, SpaceX, Ark Invest, and Gemini and promising large returns. So, beware of these kinds of giveaways, because any of these cryptos you contribute will not generate anything in return.
