214-2025 – Fraudsters are exploiting the allure of Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, to orchestrate phishing schemes involving counterfeit tokens. On April 21, a digital wallet associated with Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the former head of Binance, was inundated with 90 million sham Grok (GROK) tokens, as reported by blockchain watchdog PeckShield. The security firm flagged the tokens as a probable scam, noting that the orchestrator dispersed them across numerous addresses using a multisend tactic, a hallmark of deceptive operations.
#PeckShieldAlert #CZ-labeled address has received 90M $GroK pic.twitter.com/PvNhPK5c5G
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) April 21, 2025
Grok, the innovative AI assistant on the X platform, has no affiliation with any cryptocurrency, nor does it intend to launch one, rendering these tokens unequivocally fraudulent. This is not the first instance of such deceit. In 2023, a scammer unleashed an ERC-20 Grok token on the Ethereum network, only to offload a mere 0.5% of its total supply, triggering a catastrophic 90% plunge in its value, according to Bubblemaps, a platform specialising in blockchain data visualisation. Such tactics underscore the cunning with which fraudsters exploit the reputations of prominent figures like Musk or trusted platforms to ensnare unsuspecting victims.
The broader landscape of phishing scams reveals a troubling trend. A 2024 report by Mailsuite, an email security provider, identified Meta as the most frequently impersonated brand in phishing attempts, dwarfing even the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, which topped the list within the crypto sector. Meta faced over 25 times the number of scam attempts compared to Coinbase, highlighting the vast scale of these fraudulent endeavours.
The resurgence of Musk-related scams extends beyond fake tokens. On April 14, Denis Thomas, a crypto recovery and security advocate, exposed a fraudulent announcement masquerading as an “AI Elon Musk stream” promising $20,000 in cryptocurrency giveaways. Additionally, Coinspeedrun, a scam detection platform, recently uncovered several Musk-inspired memecoins launched on the BNB Smart Chain, further illustrating the persistent threat.
Phishing schemes, including tactics like address poisoning—where victims are deceived into transferring assets to fraudulent wallet addresses—have exacted a heavy toll. According to CertiK, a blockchain security firm, such scams accounted for over $1 billion in losses across 296 incidents in 2024, cementing their status as a formidable menace to the cryptocurrency industry. As scammers continue to refine their methods, the need for vigilance remains paramount.
