Protect Yourself From Scammers Impersonating Elon Musk—One Woman Lost $250,000
A woman recently lost hundreds of thousands of dollars after communicating with a fake Facebook account
Sometimes scammers use super advanced technology, other times they simply use Facebook Messenger. A Texas woman was recently targeted by a man who impersonated Tesla CEO Elon Musk to take more than $250,000 from her. Here are the details the police department has released so far, and how you can stay safe from similar tactics.
Florida man scams woman out of over $250,000
The Elder Fraud Unit of the Bradenton Police Department in Florida arrested “Elon Musk” for grand theft, they announced in a Facebook post. Jeffrey Moynihan Jr., 56, a Bradenton resident and business owner, is accused of defrauding a 74-year-old Texas woman out of $250,000. While this is the number reflected in specific bank statements, police say the actual sum could be much higher.
“In 2023, the victim befriended ‘Elon Musk’ on Facebook,” BPD said. “They exchanged messages for several months, and the victim was encouraged to invest in Musk’s businesses. She was promised a $55 million return. Financial records indicate the victim transferred $250,000 to bank accounts owned by Moynihan and his business, Jeff’s Painting and Pressure Washing, LLC. The victim’s husband told investigators his wife gave ‘Elon Musk’ approximately $600,000.”
Police posted bodycam footage of Moynihan being arrested at his home in Bradenton on Tuesday, November 19. In the video, after officers apprehended him and explained that they had a warrant to arrest him, Moynihan acted confused.
“Grand theft of what?,” he can be heard asking.
The real Elon Musk was otherwise engaged with the most recent launch of his spacecraft company, SpaceX, and is not under investigation by BPD, the notice concluded. The case is now an ongoing investigation.
The BPD’s Elder Fraud Unit reported that it has investigated multiple fraud cases involving victims over age 60, totaling nearly $3 million in losses.
Similar scammers operate throughout the U.S.
These con artists are not exclusive to Florida, and this is far from the first case of fraudsters using the famous business giant’s name. However, some go the extra mile to convince their targets by using artificial intelligence to mimic someone’s appearance and voice.
“My father was scammed by a fake Elon Musk account on Facebook,” one Reddit user wrote on a scam thread. “The fake Elon contacted him and told him that he’d been chosen as a winner of a free Tesla. He actually believed he was communicating with Elon, because the scammer sent an AI impersonation video of Musk.”
The man was encouraged to send a $500 Apple gift card to “Elon” as well as shipping costs for the new Tesla to claim his gift, which he wired over Zelle. He ended up giving the scammers a total of $6,000, the Reddit post said.
“Then they said the car was being shipped through ‘Zerok delivery network,’ a fake company with a real-looking website. Of course, the car never arrived. Then they disappeared.”
Another commenter said the exact same thing happened to them, calling themself a “gullible” person living off their pension who wanted the money to buy their daughter a home. Since they fell victim to the scam, the family’s phones have been tapped, and the swindlers even tried to procure a loan in the daughter’s name, the person said.
Another person shared a screenshot of a Facebook message they had received:
How to identify impersonation scams
Upon alerting the public about Moynihan’s arrest, the BPD’s Elder Fraud Unit provided their resource guide to protecting yourself and loved ones from these types of rackets. Here are the key points included:
- Most scammers will contact you unexpectedly, create a sense of urgency and provide a specific way to pay or send money.
- Popular scammers that target older adults include people impersonating government personnel or tech support staff, telemarketing and robocall, sweepstakes or lottery and inheritance, investment schemes, romance, spousal death and funerals, home repair and contractors and employment.
- Scammers pretend to be from an organization you know, claim there is a problem or prize, pressure you to act with urgency and pay in a specific way.
How to avoid impersonation scams
There are a few ways you can keep yourself from becoming a victim of theft.
- Look into Informed Delivery, a free service from the U.S. Postal Service that emails photos of your expected letter-size mail. It helps prevent mail theft by identity thieves. You should also bring your mail inside as promptly as possible.
- You might also consider installing a video doorbell camera (it doesn’t have to be too expensive). Don’t answer the door if you don’t recognize a visitor, and be prepared to decline if you are pressured to buy or donate.
- Shred receipts, credit offers, loan and credit applications, insurance forms, bank statements and similar documents when you no longer need them.
- Leave your social security card and Medicare card at home – unless you are going to need them for a specific reason.
- Try to avoid using payment cards with magnetic stripes, as this is what credit card skimmers use to gather data. Instead, see if you can use chip-enabled cards or contactless payment methods when possible.
- Every few months, revise the passwords on your financial accounts and consider using a passphrase. Keep all of your passwords stored somewhere safe.
- Set up your phone to send calls from unknown numbers to voicemail. Sign out of financial apps like Venmo, CashApp or Zelle when you aren’t using them.
- Make sure your email settings send unsolicited and unwanted emails in your inbox to the spam folder, so future emails from that site get blocked. Additionally, don’t open file attachments in emails from businesses or people you don’t trust completely.
- Social media is an increasingly popular scamming tool. Make your accounts private so that people you don’t know can’t see your account details. Set your Facebook profile so only your friends can see your page by clicking the downward arrow button in the upper-right corner of your Facebook account, then clicking on Settings & Privacy and Privacy Checkup. You should also never accept friend requests or respond to messages from people you don’t know, even if they claim to be a famous person.
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