Criminals Are Using Elon Musk’s Image to Promote Bogus Investments, Fake Products

​It’s a classic crypto investment scam, which these days is often amplified by what appear to be endorsements from Musk.​ ​

The criminals behind these scams use sophisticated technology, including realistic-looking AI-generated deepfake videos, to convince scam victims that their appeals are Musk-sanctioned — and some victims are losing their life savings.​ ​

“I have no money,” says Ramsubhag. "It’s a terrible situation.”​

A growing scourge: Elon Musk impostors​ ​

Criminals love to use the names and likenesses of celebrities such as Vince Gill, Oprah Winfrey and Kim Kardashian to perpetrate their scams, whether through ads for useless weight loss gummies, illegitimate charitable appeals, or investment scams. 

Musk, however, is the second-most impersonated celebrity, after MrBeast, according to new research from Malwarebytes, a cybersecurity company.  

Why Musk? “I think the shock value in some of the things he does is lower than others, so that makes any scam more believable coming from him," says Mark Beare, Malwarebytes head of consumer security, who compares these scams to marketing campaigns: “They test messaging out at low volumes and see what works, and they scale those tests over higher volumes once they work.​“

Also: "Scammers know that Musk is well-known and the richest person in the world, so they use the allure of his success to try and manipulate you with FOMO, the fear of missing out,” says Amy Nofziger, director of victim support for the AARP Fraud Watch Network, whose Helpline (877-908-3360) — a free service offering advice and support for scam victims and their families — has received a range of calls from people (including Ramsubhag) who’ve lost money to investments or products supposedly backed by Musk, according to Nofziger. ​ ​

What Elon Musk-impersonation scams look like

They run the gamut, including:

1. Sure-bet investment proposals

Criminals create deepfake videos of Musk selling bogus crypto investments. In recent years, his name was used to tout a fake crypto-based platform called Quantum AI, according to a 2024 report by the deepfake detection company Sensity. The report includes a fabricated video of the actor Jim Carrey saying he’d made big money by investing in Quantum AI: “I had no qualms about it — after all, the creator of the platform is Elon Musk. Now my funds are growing dozens of times faster… I highly suggest you try it too.”​ ​

2. Paid task or Job offers.

BBB’s online Scam Tracker includes a recent report from a Florida victim who lost $497 after responding to a Facebook ad featuring Musk promising payment “for performing online tasks via their exclusive website.”

3. Bogus products.

Another victim, from Virginia, reported losing $270 after purchasing a product meant to help with neuropathy, based on a deepfake video ad featuring Musk touting the product. They were later told they needed to pay an $80 “restocking fee” to receive their refund. 

4. Freebies

People have lost money or become vulnerable to identity theft by responding to social media messages announcing that Musk is giving away money, only to find that, first, they need to pay a fee or are asked for sensitive personal information. One victim who reportedly lost $6,000 in the scam told the BBB that “the impersonator claimed to be Elon Musk promising a car, house $250000 [SIC]. I must pay for transportation of car and taxes.”​ ​ ​

​How to protect yourself from impostor scams​ ​

Take a beat and check your emotions. If you see a video, ad, or message that makes you excited or anxious (scammers want your emotions to ramp up and overwhelm your rational thinking), stop and take a breath. Does it make sense? Ask someone you trust for their thoughts if you’re not sure.

​Avoid unsolicited calls, texts and emails. Because criminals often initiate contact by phone or text, one of the easiest ways to protect yourself from scams is to avoid answering calls or texts from unknown numbers (those not in your contact list).

​Guard your personal information. To avoid identity theft, be careful about disclosing your full name, home address, Social Security number, credit card and banking information, and other personal details. ​ 

​Think twice before clicking links in unsolicited texts or emails. Clicking the link could download malicious software (malware) to your computer, or lead you to some sort of scheme to get you to reveal personal information. Instead, go to the website independently by typing the URL into your browser — or use the company’s official app. ​ ​

Dig deeper. Don’t take an ad or any other unsolicited communication at face value, says BBB spokesperson Melanie McGovern: “Take that extra step to say, OK, does this website look real? Maybe doing a search would bring up one of the BBB Scam Tracker reports, or a Reddit thread where people are talking about [how it’s a scam].” ​ ​

Report scams. If you spot a scam or you’ve been a victim of one, report it to the police, as well as the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov. The more information authorities have, the better they can identify patterns, link cases and ultimately catch the criminals.   ​ ​ ​

Call the free AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline. Call 877-908-3360 to speak with trained specialists who can provide support and guidance on what to do next and how to avoid scams.