Deepfake Scams Exploit Apple Event Livestreams

Deepfake 詐騙利用 Apple 活動直播

On September 9, Apple's highly anticipated event witnessed the unveiling of the iPhone 16 models. YouTube was saturated with livestreams that utilized deepfake technology to impersonate Apple CEO Tim Cook. These fraudulent streams were part of a cryptocurrency scam orchestrating to deceive viewers.

9 月 9 日，蘋果備受期待的活動見證了 iPhone 16 機型的發表。 YouTube 上充斥著利用 Deepfake 技術冒充蘋果執行長庫克的直播。這些詐騙串流媒體是精心策劃的加密貨幣騙局的一部分，旨在欺騙觀眾。

These malicious streams featured an AI-generated version of Tim Cook urging viewers to transfer cryptocurrencies (e.g., Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, Dogecoin) to a specified "contribution address." The promise was a double-return on the deposited amount. The fabricated Cook claimed, "Once you complete your deposit, the system will automatically process it and send back double the amount of the cryptocurrency you deposited." However, this scheme is known as a "double-your-money" scam, where perpetrators keep the funds and leave contributors with nothing.

這些惡意流以人工智慧生成的蒂姆·庫克版本為特色，敦促觀眾將加密貨幣（例如比特幣、以太幣、Tether、狗狗幣）轉移到指定的「貢獻地址」。承諾是存入金額的雙倍回饋。偽造的庫克聲稱，“一旦您完成存款，系統將自動處理並退還您存入的加密貨幣金額的雙倍。”然而，這個計劃被稱為「雙倍你的錢」騙局，犯罪者保留資金，而讓貢獻者一無所有。

The scam streams shrewdly coincided with Apple's authentic "Glowtime" event, lending a facade of credibility to the fraud. One such stream was hosted on a YouTube channel deceptively named "Apple US," even featuring a genuine verification tick to further mislead viewers. Shared videos and screenshots on indicated that some of these fraudulent streams garnered hundreds of thousands of views, although it is suspected that many were from bots created to enhance the perception of legitimacy.

該騙局巧妙地與蘋果真正的「Glowtime」活動同時發生，為詐騙行為提供了可信度。其中一個直播是在一個名為「Apple US」的 YouTube 頻道上託管的，甚至帶有真實的驗證標記，以進一步誤導觀眾。分享的影片和螢幕截圖表明，其中一些欺詐性串流媒體獲得了數十萬次觀看，儘管懷疑其中許多來自為增強合法性認知而創建的機器人。

YouTube's support team recognized the issue and encouraged users to report the scam through its official reporting tool. Subsequently, the fraudulent videos were removed, and the linked accounts were deactivated.

YouTube 的支援團隊意識到了這個問題，並鼓勵用戶透過其官方舉報工具舉報該騙局。隨後，詐騙影片被刪除，關聯帳戶也被停用。

This incident highlights the increasing sophistication of scammers utilizing deepfake technology to craft convincing replicas of influential figures to execute scams. Similar occurrences have been reported, including the hijacking of the Australian broadcaster Seven's YouTube news channel by a deepfake Elon Musk promoting cryptocurrency scams. These events demonstrate the growing audacity and finesse of online fraudsters in exploiting digital platforms and advanced technologies for fraudulent activities.

這事件凸顯了詐騙者利用深度造假技術製作令人信服的影響力人物的複製品來實施詐騙的手段越來越複雜。類似的事件也有報導，包括澳洲廣播公司 Sev​​en 的 YouTube 新聞頻道被深度假貨伊隆馬斯克劫持，宣傳加密貨幣詐騙。這些事件表明，線上詐欺者利用數位平台和先進技術進行詐欺活動的膽量和技巧日益增強。