With the Paris Olympics on the horizon, cybersecurity firm McAfee has discovered deepfake scams that are designed to discredit the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The scammers have used the deepfake version of billionaire Elon Musk’s voice to raise their propoganda this time.
As per CNBCTV18 report, in the latest version, the scammers have created a fictitious Amazon Prime series titled ‘Olympics has Fallen II: The End of Thomas Bach’, released on Telegram last month.
The series has targeted the Olympics by spreading misinformation and creating believable narratives. In the series, the scammers have used the deep fake voice of Elon Musk’s voice for the narration.
McAfee said that Musk’s voice is a common target for scammers. The company’s 2023 Hacker Celebrity Hot List ranked him as one of the most frequently mimicked public figures in cryptocurrency scams.
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Last month, a report from Microsoft claimed that Russia was targeting the Paris Olympics with a disinformation campaign that included deploying a deepfake Tom Cruise, narrating a documentary, and criticizing the organization behind the games.
Notably, Russia has been banned from the 2024 Olympics, although a small number of its athletes may compete as neutrals.
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The IOC called the nine-minute episodes an “organized disinformation campaign” against it.
The Olympic body said, “The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has recently been faced with several fake news posts targeting the IOC. An entire documentary produced with defamatory content, a fake narrative, and false information, using an AI-generated voice of a world-renowned Hollywood actor”.
McAfee has predicted an increase in scams using AI as the Olympics is around the corner. However, the cybersecurity firm has cautioned people to avoid unfamiliar websites, and unsolicited messages and verify the information source.