The real Elon Musk described his Dogecoin pumping as "a hustle" a week ago, under cover of comedy, but the fake Elon Musks already figured that out: more than $2m was looted in the last few months by crypto scammers pretending to be the billionaire, reports CBS.
The theft is part of a so-called giveaway scam, whereby con artists pose as celebrities or known figures in the crypto world. They promise to "multiply" the cryptocurrency that investors send — but pocket it instead. Crypto scams have surged since October, hitting their highest level on record in the first quarter of 2021, according to data published Monday by the FTC. Musk, CEO of Tesla, has been a big supporter of cryptocurrencies. In an SEC filing in February, Tesla revealed that it bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin. In March, Musk said Tesla would accept bitcoin for vehicle purchases. (He's since backtracked on that position due to environmental concerns.) Musk's company SpaceX also recently said it would will accept dogecoin as full payment for a flight to the moon in the first quarter of next year. He has also referred to himself as the "dogefather."
Second-richest man in the world!
