A Hacker or several hackers recently took over numerous YouTube channels and renamed them to various brands associated with Microsoft. They then used the hacked channels to broadcast a crypto scam to tens of thousands of viewers, according to a recent report by ZDNet.
A Growing Trend
The latest hack is part of a growing trend on YouTube where hackers hijack major channels and use the channels to broadcast a crypto giveaway. To take part in the giveaway, users of YouTube are requested to send a small amount of crypto to a given crypto address. However, hackers never give out any crypto.
YouTube has recently been cracking down on such scams. In some cases, it has not worked out well. The video streaming platform has inadvertently shut down genuine crypto-related channels. As a result, some in the crypto community have accused the platform of censoring the crypto industry. However, YouTube has denied such claims. Before moving to YouTube, the scams were quite popular on Twitter but the platform has been working hard to crack down on such tweets.
Old Video of Bill Gates
The scam involves the use of an old video of Bill Gates where he is giving a talk on startups. Besides that talker, viewers on YouTube are requested to take part in the crypto giveaway scam. The scam entails the use of YouTube channels that have been renamed to Microsoft brands such as Microsoft News, Microsoft Europe, Microsoft US, and others. However, the scammers have not managed to hack into the verified accounts of Microsoft. The scams are only appearing on unverified Microsoft channels.
The renaming of the channels by the hackers was in an attempt to provide legitimacy to the scam. The use of celebrities in crypto scams is quite popular with hackers. It helps to give their scam some legitimacy when a well-known person is named in the scam. In a recent scam, Wissam Al Mana sued Facebook for the use of his images by hackers.
People Fell for the Crypto Scam
According to a careful analysis of the BTC accounts listed, several people have fallen for the scam. The hackers have already received thousands of dollars in BTC from hackers. Streaming stats on YouTube indicate that the videos have attracted thousands of views.
Microsoft is not the only company to be embroiled in a crypto scam. Recently, Chaos Computer Club, which is based in Germany, had its YouTube account hacked and it was used to broadcast the scam. Additionally, the founder of YouTube had his account hacked in January and it was used for a similar Ponzi scam.
Ripple Recently Got Targeted – CEO Very Upset
CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse recently shared his thoughts as fabricated Youtube accounts were surfacing with fake XRP giveaways. The most recent scam involved a scam youtube account impersonating Brad Garlinghouse. The video was running fake XRP airdrops that managed to gain 85,000+ views. Brad Garlinghouse was very upset and shared his thoughts through a tweet saying:
“Enough is enough — in a time of global crisis, when people are especially vulnerable — social platforms need to hold scammers (crypto and otherwise) accountable for stealing money from innocent victims with fake giveaways.”
How to Avoid Scams
If you ever see a YouTube video offering a crypto giveaway, it is most likely a scam. There are no crypto giveaways on YouTube unless you can verify independently from highly trusted sources. One of the main red flags should always be the use of a famous person. If a crypto project is using a celebrity to promote its project, it is most likely a scam.
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