7News YouTube Channel in Australia Was Hacked and Used to Promote a Crypto Scam with Elon Musk and AI

7News, a prominent news channel in Australia, has experienced a hacking incident that resulted in the broadcast of an AI-generated cryptocurrency fraud that features Elon Musk.

The two live broadcasts were viewed by approximately 60,000 and 45,000 viewers, respectively, before they were removed and subsequently re-uploaded, following the breach that took place on Thursday.

The fraudulent live broadcast featured an artificial intelligence representation of Tesla’s owner and CEO, Elon Musk, endorsing a cryptocurrency hoax while standing in front of a Tesla vehicle.

Two additional streams were subsequently published, presenting what appeared to be a Tesla Cybertruck launch event scheduled for 2023.

Seven’s principal YouTube channel has been deactivated as a consequence of the breach, and attempts to access it result in corrupted hyperlinks with an unavailability message.

The 7News YouTube channel, which had been renamed Tesla during the assault, has also been deleted. A spokesperson for Seven confirmed that the company is cognizant of the situation and is actively working with YouTube to promptly resolve the matter.

“Seven is conducting an investigation and collaborating with YouTube to expedite the resolution of the matter.”

The fraud persuaded viewers to scan a QR code featuring the Tesla brand and deposit funds into the scheme, with the promise of “doubling their crypto assets.”

The AI-generated Musk impersonator adamantly declared, “I am not teasing; this is a genuine and accessible resource for all of you.”

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of cryptocurrency schemes, with a number of high-profile individuals falling victim to these fraudulent activities.

Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest, a billionaire industrialist, is currently involved in legal proceedings against Facebook for the misuse of his visage in fraudulent crypto advertisements.

Since July of the previous year, the Australian corporate watchdog has diligently removed over 2500 investment hoaxes and deceptive websites that are associated with fraudulent cryptocurrency investments.

The federal government identified Russian cybercriminal Aleksandr Ermakov as the individual responsible for the 2022 Medibank breach earlier this year. This hack compromised the personal information of over four million Australians.

Waka Flocka Flame, an American rapper, was the subject of controversy last week following the controversial introduction of his memecoin on the Solana blockchain network.

On Monday morning, the rapper from Atlanta announced the launch of the FLOCKA token, which is based in Solana. He shared the ticker symbol and contract address with his 1.8 million followers on the social media platform X.

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