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A Florida man says he lost thousands of dollars after he was reportedly targeted by scammers pretending to be Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk<\/a>.<\/p>\n George Hendricks, a 69-year-old from Leesburg, a suburb of Orlando<\/a>, told ClickOrlando<\/a> he lost $45,000 after a scammer targeted him with a deepfake video<\/a> of Musk. Deepfakes are digitally-altered videos often used to impersonate notable public figures.<\/p>\n Now, Hendricks tells the outlet that his wife \u201cwants to get a divorce\u201d over the scam.<\/p>\n The incident unfolded after Hendricks commented on a post in a Facebook group claiming to advertise car giveaways, ClickOrlando reports.<\/p>\n Shortly afterward, Hendricks received a Facebook message congratulating him on winning a new car and $100,000. Then, he received another message via WhatsApp that contained a video message he believed to be from Musk. <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n George Hendricks reportedly had $45,000 stolen by scammers (ClickOrlando)<\/p>\n In the video, obtained by ClickOrlando, an AI-generated, deepfake version of Musk said: \u201cMy good friend Mr. George, I just want you to listen to what I\u2019m telling you. I promise that you\u2019re going to receive your package.\u201d<\/p>\n Hendricks was told he had to pay $7,500 in cash for the car\u2019s shipping, which he sent to the scammers. He was also asked to make a $10,000 investment and was promised a $120,000 return, the outlet reports. <\/p>\n After exchanging several messages with the scammers, he says he drained his accounts and sent them nearly $37,000 more.<\/p>\n At one point, Hendricks even told the scammers he was concerned about their requests, the outlet reports. But then, they sent Hendricks another video message, which said: \u201cI\u2019d never take advantage of you or your funds. Trust me with your whole heart. God knows I have no bad intentions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know it\u2019s going on all the time, you just never think it\u2019s going to be you,\u201d Hendricks said.<\/p>\n Scammers claiming to be the world\u2019s richest man appear to be on the rise.<\/p>\n![\"George](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-15-at-4-04-53-PM.png\")
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