While scammers hijacking legitimate YouTube accounts to promote fake cryptocurrency giveaways aren't new, people are still being misled, making these scams extremely lucrative. Tenable has calculated that in a subset of YouTube Live scams found in the last month alone, scammers have stolen at least $ 8.9 million.
"Scammers are taking advantage of compromised YouTube accounts to promote fake cryptocurrency giveaways for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Cardano, Ripple, Shiba Inu, and other cryptocurrencies," said Satnam Narang, Tenable's staff research engineer. โThe Bitcoin scams I monitored received $ 8.2 million in stolen funds, for an average amount of $ 1.6 million per scam. Ethereum scams received $ 413k in stolen funds, receiving an average of $ 82,778 per scam. Ultimately, the Shiba Inu scams raised $ 239,000 in funding, receiving an average of $ 34,192 per scam. "
Scammers recognize that users place a lot of trust in influential voices, so they should create fake videos showing the founders and co-founders of cryptocurrencies, as well as notable individuals associated with cryptocurrency companies or CEOs of companies they have promoted. the use and / or spoken of the purchase. of cryptocurrencies for the balance sheets of their companies. Combined with the plethora of existing interview images with many of these notable figures, the scammers have developed a formula that adds legitimacy to their efforts and has continued to work for years. Additionally, current events with high-profile individuals provide the perfect food for scammers as they can draw significant interest from audiences looking to view live streaming footage on YouTube.
In a series of fake YouTube Live videos that Satnam has identified, scammers used images of notable figures including:
- Michael Saylor, President and CEO of MicroStrategy and a fervent Bitcoin supporter
- Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum
- Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano and co-founder of Ethereum
- Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple Labs
- Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX
The common thread among all these fake YouTube Live streams is that users are directed to external websites that claim to duplicate a user's cryptocurrency, be it Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Cardano, Ripple, or Shiba Inu. This technique is the gold standard for cryptocurrency scams.
To help thwart the efforts of scammers, Satnam offers the following advice: โIt is really important that users be skeptical of YouTube Live videos that promise gifts from notable figures like the old ones and new people who may emerge in the future. . Never send cryptocurrency to enter a giveaway as it is unlikely to be genuine and you will not be able to get your digital money back once it has been sent. It is also important that viewers help to play their role and report on these YouTube Live videos, as there is a possibility that they will save someone from being a victim. "
To report videos on YouTube, click the flag icon below the video and select the category "spam or deceptive" and select "scams or fraud" from the drop-down menu.
A blog post detailing the latest research on Satnam's social media scams is available here, including details that can help YouTube users identify and avoid falling victim to these downsides.
- All figures are in US dollars, based on cryptocurrency prices as of November 19 at 12 p.m. PST
- The Bitcoin figure leans further because the biggest scam made $ 7.7 million.
- Screenshots of some of these scams are available upon request.
- Previous research on Satnam Narang's social media scams:
- Elon Musk and SNL: Scammers Steal Over $ 10 Million in Fake Crypto Gifts from Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin
- Google Blog: Phishing Campaign Targets YouTube Creators With Cookie Stealing Malware
- Elon Musk and YouTube Ad Scams: SpaceX Fake "Coin" Promoted in Ads During Crypto Videos
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ยฉ Press release 2021
