Sweet-talking Elon Musk impersonator cons South Korean woman out of US$50,000 with promises of wealth
- Impersonator shares details of Musk ‘family’s activities’, convinces woman
- Scammer also expresses affection for her, saying: “Hello. I love you, do you know that?”
A South Korean woman has been conned out of 70 million Korean won (US$50,000) by a scammer using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to impersonate Elon Musk, triggering a major discussion on mainland social media.
The AI scammer gained the woman’s trust by declaring that he, as Musk, was doing “something great for the world” and claiming: “I’m happy that my fans will become wealthy through me.”
According to South Korea’s Chosun newspaper, the scammer created a social media account purporting to be the billionaire entrepreneur in July 2023.
In an attempt to convince people he or she was the real Musk, the impersonator shared supposed details of the family’s personal activities, saying things such as “the kids go to SpaceX every weekend”.
The con artist also claimed to “travel frequently to Texas, home of the Tesla factory, and to Florida, where SpaceX is located, using a private helicopter”.
Initially sceptical, the woman gradually lowered her guard as the activities shared matched those reported in the news.