FTX CEO deepfake scam

Occurred: November 2022

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A fake video of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has been circulating on Twitter. The video attempts to scam investors affected by the exchange’s bankruptcy. 

The poorly made 'deepfake' video, which is a manipulated version of a Bloomberg Markets and Finance interview, attempts to direct users to a malicious website under the promise of a 'giveaway' that will double your cryptocurrency. The Twitter account was verified and mimicked SBF’s real account. 

The scam appeared to take advantage of Twitter CEO Elon Musk's decision to sell blue verification checks for USD 8. ftxcompensation.com prominently featured Bankman-Fried’s face and FTX’s logo and was registered to an individual in Nevis, near Puerto Rico. The website has since been taken offline. 

Operator: Anonymous/pseudonymous
Developer: Unclear/unknown

Country: Bahamas; USA

Sector: Banking/financial services

Purpose: Defraud

Technology: Deepfake - video; Generative adversarial network (GAN); Neural network; Deep learning; Machine learning
Issue: Security; Ethics

Transparency: Governance; Privacy

Page info
Type: Incident
Published: December 2022