0

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

AI’s ability to create increasingly photo real and authentic human-like content is great news for scammers, and bad news for trust.

 

Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about exponential tech and trendsconnect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is hot right now and crypto scams haven’t slowed a bit. Increasingly scammers are mashing the two together to create Deepfakes of celebrities like Elon Musk to swindle people out of money, and in some cases they’ve gone one step further and created wholly fake AI generated CEOs that try and dupe people.

 

RELATED
OpenAI released the full version of their "dangerous" fake news spewing AI

 

This week, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced its latest efforts to protect residents from crypto scams, sending cease and desist letters to five companies it claims attempted to profit from the AI hype train.

The agency’s latest targets are Maxpread Technologies, Harvest Keeper, Visque Capital, Coinbot, and QuantFund — who the DFPI accused of each offering unqualified securities and making false promises to investors. The DFPI accused the companies of making exaggerated claims about generating high returns using AI for crypto trading, and layered in multi-level marketing tactics to lure in unsuspecting victims.

 

The Future of Cyber In-Security by keynote Matthew Griffin

 

In addition to trying to scam investors out of money, Maxpread Technologies is alleged to have “attempted to trick investors about the identity of the CEO using a fake, AI-generated avatar programmed to recite a script.”

 

RELATED
Google gave an AI intuition, then it drove a race car without being taught

 

In a YouTube video posted to its official Maxpread account on April 8, a claimed CEO named “Michael Vanes” gives an address about the company’s launch. But the agency claims that it’s not a real person; Maxpread’s real CEO is actually Jan Gregory, who the company had called its chief marketing officer and corporate brand manager.

 

Fake. But now rich.

Another company, Harvest Keeper, allegedly hired an actor to play its CEO – no AI-generated leaders in sight in that case, although the firm did claim to use AI to maximize crypto trading returns.

 

“Scammers are taking advantage of the recent buzz around artificial intelligence to entice investors into bogus schemes,” DFPI Commissioner Clothilde Hewlett said in a statement. “We will continue our efforts to protect California consumers and investors by going after these unscrupulous actors.”

 

RELATED
This AI just built a computer within itself that runs another AI

 

Labelling them Ponzi schemes, the California regulator said that investors were told that if they invested funds, the companies would use their knowledge, skill, experience, and AI assistance to trade crypto assets and generate incredible profits for investors.

“In each case, these claims are false,” the DFPI wrote, saying the companies promised between 0.6% and 4.81% daily returns on investments.

The cease and desist letters are the latest in California regulators’ actions to stamp out crypto crime in the state. Following the collapse of FTX, the DFPI joined other state regulators in opening an investigation into the cryptocurrency exchange and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. In December, the DFPI ordered MyConstant to cease offering select crypto products, as the DFPI prohibited the sale of securities, including its primary lending platform and interest-bearing accounts.

 

RELATED
Deepfakes could soon spread to affect satellite and GIS imagery researchers find

 

“The entities named have been ordered to stop operating in California because they have violated securities law,” a DFPI spokesperson told reporters. “This means no selling or even offering ‘investments’ like these to California residents.”

Although it was targeted by the California agency, the Maxpread Technologies website claims that it and its affiliates do not target customers or operate in the United States. Maxpread, Harvest Keeper, Visque Capital, Coinbot, and QuantFund did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

About author

Matthew Griffin

Matthew Griffin, described as “The Adviser behind the Advisers” and a “Young Kurzweil,” is the founder and CEO of the World Futures Forum and the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures consultancy working between the dates of 2020 to 2070, and is an award winning futurist, and author of “Codex of the Future” series. Regularly featured in the global media, including AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, RT, Viacom, and WIRED, Matthew’s ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of revolutionary emerging technologies on global culture, industry and society, is unparalleled. Recognised for the past six years as one of the world’s foremost futurists, innovation and strategy experts Matthew is an international speaker who helps governments, investors, multi-nationals and regulators around the world envision, build and lead an inclusive, sustainable future. A rare talent Matthew’s recent work includes mentoring Lunar XPrize teams, re-envisioning global education and training with the G20, and helping the world’s largest organisations envision and ideate the future of their products and services, industries, and countries. Matthew's clients include three Prime Ministers and several governments, including the G7, Accenture, Aon, Bain & Co, BCG, Credit Suisse, Dell EMC, Dentons, Deloitte, E&Y, GEMS, Huawei, JPMorgan Chase, KPMG, Lego, McKinsey, PWC, Qualcomm, SAP, Samsung, Sopra Steria, T-Mobile, and many more.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *