A South Korean woman, identified by the alias Jeong Ji-sun, fell victim to a romance scam, losing some 70 million won ($50,719) after being duped by a deepfake video featuring Tesla CEO Elon Musk, as reported by local media outlets.
According to a KBS report, Jeong Ji-sun initially felt elated when she started communicating with an individual on Instagram who claimed to be Musk.
"I experienced something surreal last year," she told the broadcaster. "On July 17, ‘Musk’ added me as a friend on Instagram. Despite being a huge fan of Musk after reading his autobiography, I was initially skeptical."
The scammer, masquerading as the tech tycoon, went to great lengths to establish credibility, sharing purported work-related photographs, discussing family matters, and describing casual interactions with fans.
"‘Musk’ sent me his ID card and a photo of him at work. He also explained that he contacts fans randomly," Jeong said.
Her reservations about the authenticity of her new Instagram acquaintance were momentarily assuaged after engaging in a video call, during which the scammer utilized a deepfake video of Musk.
"‘Musk’ even said, ‘I love you, you know that?’ when we made a video call," she added.
Deepfake videos use sophisticated AI algorithms to analyze extensive datasets to mimic human facial expressions, voices, and gestures, creating convincingly realistic but synthetic content.
The scammer, impersonating "Elon Musk," eventually encouraged the woman to invest her funds in a Korean bank account, promising lucrative returns.
"I am happy when my fans are getting rich because of me," the scammer said.
This incident was the latest of scams exploiting the identity of SpaceX founder Elon Musk, whose popularity has soared in recent years.
