Amid Hype over iPhone 16, Deepfake Tim Cook Baits Crypto Fans with Double-Return Scam

Scammers capitalized on yesterday’s iPhone 16 launch to flood YouTube with phony livestream videos featuring a deep-faked Apple CEO asking viewers to deposit crypto into a wallet promising double-returns.

Eagle-eyed netizens, some of whom were eager to tune into Apple’s “Glowtime” event, spotted the sham and shared it on X.

In a typical “double-your-money” scam, a fake Tim Cook can be heard saying: “Once you complete your deposit, the system will automatically process it and send back double the amount of the cryptocurrency you deposited.”

As reported by Cointelegraph, YouTube’s support team quickly acknowledged the scam, urging users to report any copy of the scam in the official reporting tool.

While this scam has been flagged and taken down along with the accounts that backed it, similar scams crop up every week, capitalizing on high-profile products or people.

Experts say AI-driven fraud is causing serious financial damage, with global losses estimated at $79.1 billion since 2022. Deepfake-related fraud could inflict $10 billion per quarter by 2025, according to some estimates.

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Bitdefender recently published two straightforward guides on how to exercise good cybersecurity hygiene to combat the rising tide of socially crafted scams targeting regular folk.

Read: Make It Hard for Scammers to Get You! Use These Seven Vital Tips

Read: Got a Strange Text? 5 Signs That You’re Being Scammed (and How to Protect Yourself)