The crypto investment scam that’s all over social media
I’m all about using AI to get stuff done. No kidding, I use ChatGPT every day to shortcut planning and organize my work and my life.
You know who else loves AI? Cybercriminals. A new scam powered by deepfakes is all over social media. Too many people have fallen for it and lost millions of dollars in the process. I’ve got the dirty details so you don’t become a victim, too.
It’s not Elon
The tactic is called Nomani (yeah, that’s “no money”) and combines AI video, malicious ads on social media and email phishing. It started spiking in May and grew 335% by the second half of 2024. From May to November, ESET Cybersecurity says they blocked about 100 new scam URLs a day, adding up to 85,000 sites.
It starts with a video of Elon Musk or some other celebrity, politician or business leader endorsing a crypto investment on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or X. Some videos look like news broadcasts. Others are “exclusive” interviews or look more like an infomercial. There’s always a famous face you’ll recognize.
Usually, the accounts posting this stuff have tons of followers. The graphics are snazzy, the info is compelling, and, wow, they promise a lot of tremendous gains with no risk. (You smell the scam, right?)
Say you fall for the bait and click over to their websites. At best, you’re handing your info over to someone highly skilled at tricking people out of their money. At worst? The site itself is infected with money- or info-stealing malware.
It gets nastier
Most of these tricks end with an “investment manager” calling to walk you through the process of transferring all your hard-earned money right to them. They pretend they’re helping you put it into a crypto investment account. Nope.
If you’ve already fallen for Nomani, you’re at even more risk. Scammers are going after victims a second time, pretending to be law enforcement trying to help recover your lost funds. Just awful.
Here’s what scammers don’t want you to know
It’s easier than ever to fake famous faces because of how much real video exists online. With affordable or free software, scammers no longer need advanced skills or a huge budget to create deepfakes. AI tools do the heavy lifting, stitching together eerily realistic fakes.
Know the red flags
Even if you think, “This could never happen to me,” read this list and store these tidbits away. They could save your butt someday.
- Hey, that’s blurry: Deepfake videos are often in low resolution to hide glitches. If your internet connection is just fine and other videos are clear, move on.
- What if the video quality is OK? Look for strange speech patterns, unnatural breathing, poorly synced audio and video, jerky body movements, and robotic-sounding dialogue.
- Don’t click: They want to get you off social media and over to their website to plant malware. Solid antivirus software can spy malware tricks you can’t. Protect your computer and phone with my pick* for just $19 for the first year.
- High pressure: If an ad says you can double your money by sitting on your butt, your scam radar should be going off. No legitimate investment opportunity is urgent. When they pull out the pressure tactics, move on.
No matter the form, get-rich-quick schemes end one way: With less money and more regret than you started with. You have to be smart! Remember what happened to the chicken: The chicken loses its job, the chicken goes broke, the chicken strips. 🐓
Tags: cybercriminals, malware, TotalAV
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