Crypto scammers have stolen at least $150,000 by impersonating SpaceX YouTube accounts and hosting fake Bitcoin giveaways.
On June 9 Bleeping Computer reported that several scammers hacked the legitimate YouTube accounts while changing the branding and content to match that of Elon Musk’s SpaceX channel.
The channels then broadcasted archived footage of Musk as if it was a live event and asked viewers to send Bitcoin (BTC).
Fake SpaceX YouTube channels scam viewers out of $150K in bitcoin – @LawrenceAbramshttps://t.co/7oRyLuTL3K — BleepingComputer (@BleepinComputer) June 9, 2020
At least 80,000 people watched the live stream which brought in 15.31 BTC for the scammers since June 8.
One of the Bitcoin addresses received 29 transactions for 4.08 BTC , worth $39,840 at the time. While another received 84 “donations” totaling 11.23 BTC, or almost $110K.
<img width="1147" height="1012" src="https://i1.wp.com/www.cryptonewspoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/spacex-bitcoin-scam.jpg?fit=1024%2C903&ssl=1" alt="space x bitcoin scam" class="wp-image-18111 lazyload" />
Source: Bleeping Computer
Musk is aware that his name is being used to perpetuate such scams.
Responding to a different crypto scam in February, the CEO tweeted that “the crypto scam level on Twitter is reaching new levels” and users should report such fakes as soon as they see them:
The crypto scam level on Twitter is reaching new levels. This is not cool. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 1, 2020
However, sending reports might prove to be insufficient for some platforms.
A February report from Cybersecurity firm Tenable indicated that there has been a “perpetual cat-and-mouse game between Twitter and cryptocurrency scammers”. The latter continue to modify their tactics to get BTC from unsuspecting victims.
Source: Cointelegraph | Image: Unsplash