Scammers steal people's video to sell fake products

An ad on Facebook shows a young man's face and claims he is a whiz kid who turned down $1 million for his invention

BY KERRY TOMLINSON, AMPERE NEWS

SEPTEMBER 1, 2022

You may have heard about criminals using deepfake videos --- computer-generated videos of people doing and saying things they never did or said --- to trick you.

But why go to the trouble of making a deepfake when they can just steal people's video and manipulate it for their own purposes?

Here's what scammers are doing with pilfered video and simple but effective video editing.

Watch here:

Fake Ad

To the sound of upbeat music, the ad on Facebook claims Massachusetts Institute of Technology student Noah Graves created a new product that can cut your energy bills in half.

It's called EcoChamp, a device you plug into outlets in your home.

The ad spins a story of a boy raised by a single mom in the poorest neighborhood in St Louis. She and her neighbors struggled over their power bills until Noah invented this new device nine months ago.

But it's all a fantasy.

The video of their 19-year-old Noah Graves is really video of Alex Pinkerton, featured in a 2019 CNBC news story for his research on computers for the brain. At the time, he was a 16-year-old student in Austin, Texas.

The EcoChamp ad shows parts of the CNBC video but adds its own text to try to fool you into thinking it's real.

The device they show has been peddled by scammers for years.

Fake Endorsement

The ad shows video of what it claims to be a power company but is actually stock video of businesspeople in a meeting.

In another section, the ad shows a person who appears to be endorsing the product with a quote over his video.

"It's only a matter of time before very home will have this device," the quote says.

But the video is really of a cybersecurity consultant named Chris Sistrunk in an interview with CNBC for a different news story in 2019. In the real video, Sistrunk is not saying anything about EcoChamp. Instead, he's talking about cyberattacks on the power grid.

"It makes me upset that they would use a video of me to sell their scam product," Sistrunk told Ampere News.

Dud Device

Sistrunk is also an electrical engineer, and he says the device is fake.

"A product that claims to reduce your electric bill by 50% and all you have to do is plug it in? And it costs $99, no wait, $49?" he said.

"In reality, it's a piece of junk that when you crack it open is just two green LEDs, some resistors, and a capacitor. None of these things will reduce how many watts you will use in your home and thus reduce your electric bill," he explained.

EcoChamp

We contacted EcoChamp through the email and number listed on their website as well as their website registration.

No answer.

"The person you're trying to reach is not accepting calls at this time. Please try your call again later," the voice message says.

Long History

This is not the first time this device has made the rounds.

It's gone by the name EcoWatt, Motex, Power Save, Electricity-Saving Box, and other names, according to various reports.

The BBC reported on the device back in 2011 saying scammers were selling these bogus devices to older people. The UK recalled the devices, not just because they didn't work as claimed, but also for safety reasons.

Sellers still offer it up now on Amazon under different companies, prices, and fake reviews.

EcoChamp will probably show up again under new branding, with a new fake story and video. Keep watch for this kind of ad designed to grab your attention, lie to you, then take your money.

Real Savings

Sistrunk offers some real ways to save money on electric bills:

---Fix drafty doors and windows.

---Add insulation if needed

---Use LED bulbs

---Install more energy-efficient appliances

They're not as easy as simply plugging something into an outlet, which is why social media ads that tell you otherwise may be so popular with people trying to save some cash.