‘I’m sick’ — Scammers use AI, fake ID of crypto influencer to steal $4M
The host of The Wolf Of All Streets podcast, Scott Melker, says he’s received word that his face and name are being impersonated by scammers, with at least one victim duped out of $4 million.
On April 23, the crypto investor said, “I’m sick,” reporting that he’d been contacted by a private investigator revealing that a client of his was scammed for $4 million by a Nigerian group using his name and face as bait.
“They’ve apparently scammed a number of people,” Melker said, adding, “They sent him a fake driver’s license to prove it was me,” and used his X avatar as the photo.
The scammers used AI to generate the fake ID and used a fake but convincing-looking email account.
“They do zoom calls with AI,” which are “apparently sophisticated,” said Melker, who added that the scammers have also spoofed accounts of his wife and kids to support identity confirmation.
Technical analysts “TheChartGuys” reported something similar, with a person getting scammed for $5,000 after the scammers replicated their voice using AI deepfakes.
Fake ID is easy to spot, says trader
Crypto adviser and trader “Nebraskan Gooner” said a quick Google search easily reveals that the ID is fake.
He pointed out that there were a few subtle discrepancies in the address and date formats. He said that it it sucks that these scammers are getting so sophisticated, but was “surprised how badly this was with how sophisticated of an operation these seems to be.”
Cointelegraph reached out to Melker for further comments but did not receive an immediate response.
Related: ‘Victim-blaming’ Americans can deter crypto scams reporting — Regulator
AI-generated scams are surging as the technology evolves.
In March, California’s Department of Justice warned that it had discovered seven new types of crypto scams that involved AI.
In February, Chainalysis said that 2025 will be a big year for AI scams, stating that generative AI is making scams “more scalable and affordable for bad actors to conduct.”
In a recent report, software giant Microsoft said that bad actors were using AI to “supercharge their scams.”
“AI tools can scan and scrape the web for company information, helping cyberattackers build detailed profiles of employees or other targets to create highly convincing social engineering lures,” it stated.
“It’s going to get exponentially worse, I would imagine,” lamented Melker.
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