Recent Bitcoin giveaway scamsBitcoin giveaway scams have been all over Youtube in the form of ad videos. In the videos, big tech names such as SpaceX’s Elon Musk,
Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson, and Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin are shown giving away free Bitcoin worth 5,000 BTC up to 10,000 BTC.
These fraudulent videos appear as ads that play before, during, or after any Youtube video, reaching millions of users around the globe.
These scammers have already amassed millions of dollars, and they still haven’t stopped fooling people into sending cryptocurrencies to their addresses.
While giveaway scams are not new to the Bitcoin community, this kind of targeted modus using social media has been going on as early as
February 2020. From Elon Musk to Jeff Bezos and now Vitalik Buterin, these scam videos change their “main face” every few months to attract
unsuspecting victims.
Twitter hacks on popular accountsBefore the Youtube scam videos, a cyber attack on Twitter occurred earlier in February 2020. Hackers breached the accounts of popular personalities
such as Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Kanye West and used their platforms to announce fraudulent giveaways, claiming that
these wealthy people will double all Bitcoin sent to a certain address.
Ripple Labs vs YoutubeLast April, Ripple Labs also complained to Youtube about scam videos promising free XRP to people who will send any amount of XRP to a certain address.
Led by CEO Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple Labs filed a lawsuit against the video-sharing platform after they failed to stop the scammers.
Fake Youtube videos of Garlinghouse promoting a fake 50 million XRP airdrop were reported, but Youtube was not able to remove the content
as quickly as Ripple Labs wanted. As a result, XRP holders lost their assets and Garlinghouse’s image was tarnished.
SpaceX Bitcoin Giveaway scam videos on YoutubeThis type of scam isn’t entirely new but what boosted the attacks was SpaceX’s launch earlier this year. Scammers used this opportunity to use
big tech names and launch a massive fraudulent attack alongside SpaceX’s most anticipated launch.
Months since the first Twitter hacks in February, millions of dollars have been scammed off of unsuspecting victims. With some of these videos still
popping up on Youtube, people are still being robbed of their coins.
What do these Bitcoin Giveaway scams look like and what should you look out for?Youtube Bitcoin video scams 
It’s almost a given that it’s a giveaway scam video if a clip of a famous personality
giving a speech with the words '
BTC Giveaway' is plastered all over the screen.
Here’s what happens so you know how to recognize a Youtube video scam:* These videos show up as ads at the start, middle or end of any Youtube video.
It shows a screen saying if you send any amount of Bitcoin to the displayed address,
then Elon Musk, for example, will double your money and you’ll receive twice the
amount you sent from your wallet.
* The screen-grabbed video looks like a live streaming video.
* The screen provides the wallet address where the people can send their Bitcoin.
* The screen includes a site such as SpaceXBitcoin.org or Spacex.VC that supposedly
gives more information. If you check the sites, they contain information about the
fake giveaway that makes it believable to gullible eyes. These sites even have a terms and
conditions page but small discrepancies on this page should make you question its legitimacy.
* These videos come from Youtube channels that look legitimate, and some may even
be verified with a checkmark. That’s because scammers hacked legitimate Youtube accounts
and changed the branding and content to emulate that of Elon Musk’s SpaceX channel. In one live
stream in June, at least 80,000 people watched and 15.31 BTC were collected by the scammers.
Twitter impersonation Bitcoin scams
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is among the many hacked Twitter accounts used to lure people into the giveaway scam.
The tweet was immediately deleted by the account.
Here’s how the Twitter impersonation scams worked so you know what to look out for:* Hackers create accounts that impersonate verified Twitter accounts of celebrities
(Kanye West), influential people (Barack Obama) and companies (Coinbase and Binance).
* By impersonating other people, they tweet that they are giving back to the community
amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and will double all BTC sent to their given address.
* Aside from impersonation, scammers hacked multiple verified accounts of companies
and famous personalities and tweeted the same content saying they have partnered with
CryptoForHealth and are giving back to the community by doubling all funds sent to the given address.
Next actions taken by concerned parties after these scamsWhile the scammers remained anonymous, their movements could be traced through the blockchain. Cyber-security firms such as Adaptiv
tracked the flow of Bitcoin sent to vanity addresses containing names such as Elon Musk, Tesla or SpaceX and found over 66 addresses.
These addresses have been reported to Bitcoinabuse.com, a public database of Bitcoin addresses used by hackers and criminals.
Using Adaptiv’s research data, Bitcoinabuse found that 214 BTC have been sent to the Elon Musk vanity addresses alone,
accounting for more than USD$2 million.
Twitter’s cyber-attack responseDuring the Twitter cyber-attack in February and July, the social media site immediately responded and locked down the high-profile accounts
to prevent the scammers from tweeting any further. The CrypoForHealth scam website mentioned in the fraudulent tweets was immediately suspended
by Namesilo, the domain registrar used by the scammers.
Google and Youtube were suedUnfortunately, things didn't go as smoothly in Youtube’s situation. Due to their slow response, tech entrepreneur Steve Wozniak sued Google and
Youtube for allowing scammers to use his name and image in these scams. Aside from Wozniak, 17 other victims are also suing the video-sharing platform.
Youtube denies liability saying that they are not at fault for the scammers using their platform. However, to appease the violated parties, Youtube stated,
'We take the abuse of our platform seriously and take action quickly when we detect violations.'
Ripple Labs was the first to file a lawsuit against Youtube with the accusation that despite having the power to stop the illicit use of their website,
the platform allegedly gained profit from the ad money.
Lots of people have complained to Google, who owns Youtube, since these videos keep popping up. Up to now, you can search ‘SpaceX special event’
on the platform and you’ll see streaming videos with the same screen sharing a QR code for a Bitcoin address and an Elon Musk interview clip.
How can you tell if it’s a Bitcoin scam?If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Some people have the notion that unlike fiat money, earning Bitcoin is easy. Alas, that’s not true. Receiving free Bitcoin already sounds sketchy and
a sweet promise can render a person irrational and pliable so make sure to not fall into such promises.
Be awareThere are plenty of scams out there, and the first thing you can do to avoid it is by being aware. Research and learn to detect red flags in deals or giveaways.
From blackmails, fake exchanges, phishing emails and free giveaways to pyramid schemes and malware, there are plenty of scams out there.
To protect yourself, learning about previous Bitcoin hacking and scamming incidents is good essential knowledge to have. This will help you
know how scammers were able to breach security protocols, and how you’ll be able to protect your funds.
For example, the controversial Mt. Gox incident where thousands of Bitcoin were stolen taught crypto holders to never store their funds on an
exchange sitedue to its vulnerability. Instead, invest in a secure
crypto wallet and transfer your coins as soon as you receive them.
Run a searchIf you’re sceptical, run a search to see if the giveaway is a scam. There’s a high chance that other holders have seen it and are questioning
its legitimacy as well. Forums are one of the best places to do this as you can ask your fellow crypto enthusiasts to help certify the legitimacy of a giveaway.
Check the legitimacy of the siteScam alert sites such as Bitcoinabuse and Scam Alert are created for this purpose. Go to any of these sites and check if the site in question
has already been reported there.
If a contact number or email address is given, reach out and ask for verification or certification. Ask security questions and request to speak with
a customer service staff since bots can run messaging applications.
What to do if you come across a Bitcoin scam?If you come across a Bitcoin scam, you should report it to Bitcoinabuse and Scam Alert first so the sites can be taken down.
Afterwards, you should report the video and channel to Youtube as fraudulent activity or report the tweet and questionable account to Twitter.
It is vital to report the site to Bitcoinabuse and Scam Alert first because if you report the video or tweet to their respective companies,
they will be taken down but the website will still be live.
Can you recover a scammed Bitcoin?Unfortunately, crypto transactions are irreversible as per the blockchain. Once you send funds to a scammer’s address,
there is nothing you can do to get it back. That’s why it’s important to educate yourself about these
crypto scams since once you’re pulled into them,
there is no insurance and you will not be able to get your money back.
Cheers,
Karl
Bitcasino.io
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