Elon Musk catfish scam targeting woman in Acadiana

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)-- Scammers are catfishing people in Acadiana, pretending to be Elon Musk.

One of our viewers, Hilda Holland, asked us to investigate. Holland said her friend says she is in a relationship with the billionaire. That alleged relationship has already cost her more than 60 thousand dollars.

The relationship began on the Threads app, then progressed to video chatting.

"She said, 'I seen Elon talking to me. I've talked to him on, you know, Facetime,'" Holland said. "I said, 'They can do anything with a computer.'"

This is a deep-fake. Scammers use AI-generated videos to mimic real people, including their voice and image. This is a tactic to gain your trust.

While you are in it for the relationship, the person on the other end is only in it for your money, often making you wire transfer the money so you can't get it back.

Holland said the Elon Musk poser had her friend send money through gift cards.

"It got to where Home Depot would not sell her anymore cards," Holland said. "They knew it was a scam going on, and so she drives from Alexandria to Opelousas to Lafayette to buy all these cards."

To keep you sending more, they tell you they are in need, even those pretending to be a multi-billionaire.

"Elon Musk is supposed to be giving her a Tesla car, supposed to be sending her thousands of dollars in by FedEx," Holland said. "And the FedEx truck had a wreck. She had to pay $1,500 for the damage to a FedEx truck."

In another scam to extort money from her, 'Musk' had planned a visit to see her but never made it.

"He was like, 'I can't come now because I'm at FedEx, and they won't turn things loose till you send $1,600," Holland said.

What FedEx wouldn't 'turn loose,' was a package of money he was planning on sending her.

"He tried to get her to send money the other day for him to go buy a pizza for X, his little boy," Holland said.

Authorities cannot get the money back because she is voluntarily sending these gift cards.

"Please realize it's a scam. I love you dearly. You're my best friend. But please, please...these people are sucking you dry, and it needs to quit," Holland said. "We need our government to find out how we can stop this money laundering. Because that's what it is. It's money laundering when it goes to an empty computer and then sent over out of our country."

Chris Babin with the Better Business Bureau of Acadiana said it's important to get other people's opinions when meeting strangers online.

"Any situation you end up in, it's not a bad idea to ask other people about it, get other people's opinions," Babin said. "The issue is with romance scams; it can be embarrassing. But we'd encourage you, check on your friends and family and have a conversation with them if you see signs that they may be involved in this type of scam."

Here is how you can spot catfishing scams:

• It's too good to be true. Scammers often offer good-looking pictures and stories of financial success, so be honest with yourself about who would be genuinely interested.
• You are moving fast. To gain your trust, they'll talk about building a future with you early into the relationship.
• They don't want to meet in person. They have an excuse to postpone or cancel your meeting. Remember, video calls can be faked with AI.
• They tell you hard luck stories. They say they are having financial trouble and need money.