According to reports, three Canadian men lost hundreds of thousands of dollars as a result of viewing videos that purportedly depicted prominent figures supporting a cryptocurrency investment scheme.
According to CTV News Toronto, Mohammad Haque encountered a video on social media that featured Prime Minister Justin Trudeau demonstrating how Canadians could achieve profits by investing in cryptocurrency.
Haque began investing with 1,200 CAD ($880). However, he was surprised to find that his account was empty after he believed he had accumulated $424,775 from his investments.
Artificial intelligence (AI) modified the video he viewed, revealing it to be a deepfake. The fraud resulted in Haque losing 226,000 CAD ($165,610).
The video that Darrell Budnick, who was defrauded of 130,000 CAD ($95,262), viewed was a similar deepfake. He initially believed that he was earning profits by investing in the scheme; however, he later discovered that he was unable to withdraw his funds.
“I am currently experiencing a state of crisis.” I am experiencing an escalating cardiac condition. This is painful. It induces fears. I was under the impression that I was secure, but I am now in an untenable situation.”
Giovanni Pugliano was also deceived after viewing a YouTube video in which Elon Musk claimed that individuals could begin investing in cryptocurrency with as little as a few hundred dollars and become wealthy. Pugliano lost 17,000 CAD ($12,457) as a result of the video being fake.
“I found myself in a financial bind after investing significantly more than I had anticipated.” In the first half of 2024, fraudulent investment schemes resulted in a loss of 148 million CAD ($108.45) for investors throughout the country, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. The vast majority of these schemes involve cryptocurrency.
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