Gary was promised he would become an instant millionaire if he invested in one thing. Now he's been left penniless after losing $400,000 in the elaborate scam

An Australian man has lost his entire life savings to a crytopcurrency scam that used modified video clips of Elon Musk and Anthony Albanese endorsing the scheme.

Gary Meachen, 71, from Broke in the NSW Hunter Valley, lost $411,000 after he was duped by a video on Facebook that promised viewers they would get rich quick.

The clip contained modified footage of Musk supposedly discussing a cryptocurrency scheme with a suite of high-profile individuals.

Mr Albanese, Sunrise host Natalie Barr, Today host Karl Stefanovic, ex-prime minister Julia Gillard and commentator Piers Morgan were among them.

Footage of the well-known political and entertainment identities was then manipulated to make it appear as if they were discussing the scheme.

Mr Meachen, a long-time admirer of Musk, was told he was one of '45 chosen ones who will get a chance to earn money that will change your life'. 

He provided his card details to a scammer to buy in, and every time he tried to withdraw money he was persuaded to invest more.

Mr Meachen was eventually left with nothing and is now reliant on his pension. 

'It's one of those things that when you think about it you get a fear because you look at the future and the future you had is gone,' he told The Project on Monday. 

'It's very difficult to sleep and it keeps coming back... you just have to deal with it.'

He said the scammers who targeted him were 'very convincing'. 

'That's the gutting part of the thing, you just get destroyed by the fact that you trusted them and they just took you for a ride. You feel like a bit of a fool,' he said. 

Mr Meachan called on social media platforms and the government to do more. 

'They're banking criminal money so I'm here to say to the government, to the police, they've got to take some action here,' he said. 

'Australians are being targeted.' 

The 71-year-old said he and his wife would somehow find a way to get by. 

'I'm pretty strong but at the end of the day I'm going to wear down. We'll find some way of moving ahead, I don't know,' he said.  

'I've never been on the dole, I've done everything correct in my life and I'll have to get on the pension. Why are elderly people getting targeted by these people?'

Mr Meachan has provided the federal government with details of the elaborate scam which has been shared with NSW Police. 

He has also contacted Cybertrace, a team of private investigators who specialise in cyber fraud investigations and assets recovery. 

Australians lost $2.7billion to scams in 2023 with more than 623,000 reports about scams made in that year alone, according to the ACCC.

Investment scams stole more than any other scam, accounting for $1.3billion.  

Experts believe older Australians are being targeted by scammers because they are less tech-savvy and are more likely to have savings and superannuation. 

Losses for people over 65 increased by 13.3 per cent in 2023 to $120million, with this age group disproportionately impacted by investment schemes.