Celebrities, we all love them, right? Everyone has a fave, someone they would love to meet or even have a relationship with. How exciting would it be to have your #1 celeb contact you with promises of personal meet and greets, money, cars, fame…. the list goes on and on. Did you know that criminals have been impersonating celebrities for years? With the power of AI (Artificial Intelligence), there has been a huge uptick in what is being called the Celebrity AI Cash Grab scam. Recent advances in AI make these scams so much harder to identify as they offer criminals the tools to mimic voices, alter photos, and take away a lot of the traditional red flags for fraud. The “celebrities” will have some reason as to why they can’t access their own millions of dollars and therefore need your hard-earned money. There have been several who have fallen victim to this scam, some of whom were so convinced they were speaking to celebrities they refused to see the truth even when it was blatantly staring them in the face. Let’s take a look at a few of these AI scams, the consequences of falling for them, and how not to become a victim.
On November 19, police in Bradenton Florida arrested Jeffrey Moynihan, Jr. for grand theft. He had been using AI to pose as Elon Musk and had managed to bilk an elderly woman out of $600,000 total. Moynihan used AI to create deep fake videos impersonating Elon Musk in order to convince his victim to invest in his business. The victim was promised a $55 million investment return, instead everything she sent him went directly into bank accounts owned by Moynihan and his business, Jeff’s Painting and Pressure Washing, LLC. Elon Musk has become the face of many scams worldwide. Hong Kong officials warned that crypto scammers were using AI deepfakes of Musk, an Australian man lost $50,000 in an online crypto scam through a deepfake interview with Musk on social media. Another woman in Korea gave $50,000 to fake Elon Musk after falling in love with them on Instagram.
Blake Shelton’s likeness was used in an AI Cash Grab scam in Alabama a few years ago. A woman in her 60s entered a “contest” to win $1,000,000.00 and to be chosen as his #1 fan. In order to enter she was instructed to make three payments totaling $17,500 through Wire Transfers to Shelton’s “manager”. Of course, it wasn’t really Blake or his manager, and the lady was out the money. Another lady fell so much in love with a fake Brazilian singer that she sent her life savings of $300,000 and left her husband to be with him before realizing it was a scam. Selena Gomez, Dolly Parton, Tom Hanks, Gordon Ramsey, even Oprah have all been used by these scammers to make people believe they are communicating with an actual celebrity or investing in a product/company supposedly endorsed by them.
These are just a few examples, there are so many more. Celebrity AI Cash Grab Scams all pretty much work the same way. Scammers seek their targets, determine what type of scam they can use to pull off the crime, and execute. The scammers use celebrity names, likeness, voices to create the illusion that their victim is really communicating with someone famous. Once the victim is hooked, these scammers will do or say whatever they deem necessary to gain access to every single penny they can. Poor unsuspecting victims believe they are speaking with someone like Elon Musk because AI can simulate voices so effectively you would not be able to tell the difference. Unfortunately, by the time a victim realizes or finally believes that Jennifer Aniston or George Clooney is not actually in love with them it is too late, and they are left with nothing. The consequences of falling for an AI Cash Grab are the same as any other imposter scam; loss of money, heartbreak, humiliation, breach of trust with family members, possible bankruptcy, and sadly some people have even taken their lives due to these types of scams.
Tips to help you not fall for a Celebrity AI Cash Grab:
- Don’t post on a “celebrity” social media site. Chances are very high that those sites are neither run by the celeb nor endorsed by them.
- If you get contacted by someone “famous” stop and think, why would this person be messaging me. Out of all the people in the world, this celeb chose you to communicate with?
- Do not send money! NO cash, check, gift card, money gram, wire transfer, crypto….no, no, and no!
- Think before you act, be skeptical, slow down, keep your personal information private.
- If you are being asked to donate to a charity, take time to actually research that charity first. The BBBs Wise Giving Alliance is a good tool for vetting nonprofits.
- Did I mention do not send money?!?!?!?!?
- Don’t deposit or cash any checks that may be mailed to you by the so-called celebrity.
- Use common sense. As the old saying goes, if it is too good to be true it probably is.
Remember, if you can spot a scam, you can stop a scam!
