Fake SpaceX youtube chanel scam $150k in BTC. Where is the end of these scam?

[sujonali1819]

Today I have found an article in Cointelegraph which is published few days ago. https://cointelegraph.com/news/fake-spacex-youtube-channels-scam-victims-out-of-150k-in-btc

Where we can see some Fake spaceX youtube channels stole about 150k dollars in BTC through youtube fake giveaways. so where is the end of these scams? How we can stop them? Any guess you have?

source: cointelegraph

They used bitcoin address: 3EtrSPskMRgwEEE9onLdmwcAFqaH9jj9rM

Note: Mod, please move this topic to a separate section if I made mistake.

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[DdmrDdmr]

This is such a classical modus operandi now, that it barely seems new nor surprising, and one almost assumes that it’s there, as part of the ecosystem, where one’s better judgment should resort to ignoring these scam attempts (or better yet, report them too).

Of course that is "our" perspective, meaning those that have read about them so many times, that, even if the basic cognitive logic fails (I mean really: a x2 giveaway in BTC …), the threads made on the similar scam attempts should create a sort of vaccine, that should defend even the most gullible after some moderate amount of time.

The issue is for those that roam the internet, believing in pots of gold buried at the extremes of a rainbow, who have not developed a minimum anti-scam maturity, nor a complementary development of an acceptable logic. There are bound to be lots of these people around the internet highway, thus some get assaulted with certain ease (should they lodge at the Bitcointalk lodging for a while, they may well not).

[LeGaulois]

so where is the end of these scams? How we can stop them? Any guess you have?

When people will stop being dumb or naive enough to think they will really receive something. Scammers will become tired to set up scams that don't bring any money in return. Honestly, I doubt it's going to happen.
I have seen so many different methods where people got scammed, scammers re-invent the wheel with the years going. A decade ago it was with Paypal, so many so-called Paypal generator, or Liberty Reserve doubler, AlertPay gift cards, etc.

How to stop them? There is no way, the best is to educate others. A golden rule: too good to be true, it's not true

[hatshepsut93]

Crypto scams will exist for as long as crypto exists. And it's not because crypto is inherently bad, the same happens in other fields too - tech support scams, Nigerian prince scams, Ponzi schemes and so on - they exist for decades with no signs of disappearing. Maybe tech companies will utilize algorithms like machine learning to detect scams and remove them, but scammers will adapt and find ways to bypass them. No matter how you try to educate people, there will always be those who get scammed easily.

[Maxstl007]

Just take your eye off them, there is no such thing as free giveaways in crypto space, we only have Airdrops and Bounties, any other means are 99% probably scam, and even before joining any of this why can't you share or ask about the giveaway on this forum?? You will quickly get good answers, coins aren't for free, you either work to get them or buy them...

[OgNasty]

I don’t understand why people fall for stuff like this. In order to generate profits, somebody has to do something.

[Coyster]

I didn't carry out a survey nor do I have any raw statistics, but the higher number of people who fall for this scams are people who are not bitcoin enthusiasts, in the sense of understanding the network, investing or trading in it. I'm saying this from experience, some of my friends who do not hold any bitcoins have presented some of this schemes to me for me to assess it and tell them if they can make double from it.

It is still based on the believe of those so far away from the network, believing everyone in it is rich as we discussed in this thread, so when this novices see this schemes, they think it to be their own opportunity to make money from it. As for stopping this from happening, the only way I think it's possible is if more people nurture their understanding of the network and also change their mindset of getting rich quick from it.

[LTU_btc]

I got this video in my Youtube feed and there was 50k people watching. No doubts that part of these viewers were fake, but probably number of actual people watching it also was big. I must admit that such videos is quite well made. Thumbnail, channel name, logo, video description looks like it would official channel. Only when you open channel and notice that there is just one video, you realize that something is wrong there.
Previously I saw that gains of scammers weren't such significant from similar videos. But $150k from single video, damn, that's a lot...

I don’t understand why people fall for stuff like this. In order to generate profits, somebody has to do something.

Well, unfrtunately not everyone is smart and educated enough to realize that's scam. And scammers are smart, they are targeting these more vulnerable people. Though, you don't need much knowledge to not fall into this scam. Using common sense can protect from financial losess.

[sujonali1819]

I don’t understand why people fall for stuff like this. In order to generate profits, somebody has to do something.

I can not also understand why people are so greedy. The amount is so high about 150k dollars. So obviously some big holders tried this way to double bitcoins. Holders who have 0.05-0.10 BTC, they should have a little sense about these scams. Also, they should have know that money is not so easy.

Scammers always trying to be more smarts and some greedy people fall out there.

[pooya87]

this didn't start with bitcoin and it will not end in bitcoin world either. there has always been scammers that were using the same exact method of scamming ("send me money to get back more") to rob idiots. for example one way of doing it outside of bitcoin is calling up idiots on the phone and telling them they have won something big but to receive it they have to pay up first!
this will continue to happen as long as there are idiots who fall for it, which is always.

[yazher]

If this was us, we already know this kind of thing is not real. the problem here is when the people who just begin to learn about bitcoin and came across to this offer, there is some tendency that they will fell to it. That would be a disaster as some are already fell to that kind of scam. they used the high amount of audience to execute their fraud and in the end of the day, they managed to escape with approximately $150k in BTC. When there are always people who want to generate their BTC in the fastest way possible, scammers will take that advantage to create more decisive offers such as this.

[bakasabo]

Another level of scam.

Take a look on number of subscribers - 230k. It is just impossible to get that much in short time, make a scam video and run away. Usually channel owners need about a year to get so many subscribers. If not only you a famous person or you're channel got a promotion from other huge channel.

I think this youtube channel got hacked and used to scam people. Not simply "youtube chanel scam". Channel owner should give his PC and account to police for investigation. Maybe they could trace who hacked and used him.

[joniboini]

Channel owner should give his PC and account to police for investigation. Maybe they could trace who hacked and used him.

It will be difficult. If he is indeed hacked, then there's a ton of ways to do that. Either hack the e-mail, or he carelessly enters his password on a phishing website, etc. Before they found out who hacked them, I bet the hacker is already running away.

A better way would be to educate people on scam like this I guess. But that's not easy either. I wonder why people with so much money fail for a trick like this.

[Coyster]

Take a look on number of subscribers - 230k. It is just impossible to get that much in short time, make a scam video and run away.

The scammers do not need 'real' youtube subscribers, I've seen many people advertise that they can help IG/Twitter users get thousands of followers in no more than two days or so, getting fake/bot Youtube subscribers would also be in their stock-in-trade.

This scam youtube channels imo weren't hacked, they create this YT channels themselves with bots as subscribers to make their channel look real, so people then subscribe to it without suspecting since they have a 'large crowd' of subscribers and this makes it easier for the scammers.

[bakasabo]

Found little update, think it has 100% connection with Fake SpaceX scam from screenshot in first post.

Russian youtuber, that creates reviews about old games, complained that his channel got hijacked.
How he got hacked - fake advertiser asked him to advertise cloud gaming service (not for free ofc). To do that and to show how it works, youtuber had to download cloud mining client, make a short video and integrate it in his next game review. Together with this soft he received the virus... He had lost his youtube channel, mail accounts and etc. His mobile phone authentication was immediately unbind.

This all happened on June 12, and in few days live stream of Mask interview and other video with him...together with bitcoin address to participate in giveaway and something like that.

source: https://vk.com/public174121399 <--- everything is in Russian, but if interested, you can translate with built-in translator in chrome
stolen youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCASIbOoXZ9tywU_23HnHfEg/videos (had about 110k subs)

Think soon we will hear more about fake SpaceX channel scam and $150k in bitcoin is just a hip of iceberg
 

[Erumo]

Guys !!!

Here is an example of this scam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3_-6f60HB8. Another stolen channel

Video translation is live now ! Look and subscribers count, channel name and uploaded videos. There are only two: Live translation and "Chicken Challenge PUBG M • NEW UPDATE • PUBG MOBILE LIVE STREAM INDIA". I dont think this "Kevin O'Leary is a Canadian businessman," play PUBG

According to socialblade, this was fully gaming channel few days ago and all the videos are deleted now !https://socialblade.com/youtube/channel/UCd2EmvcchaVjEykfuoH64Vw/videos/mostviewed

[Pmalek]

For as long as people believe that money grows on trees, and believe everything else they see and read online, scams like this will continue to evolve and get even bigger. It is hard to teach people to use common sense. That is all that is needed most of the time. Believing that you will get 1 BTC if you send someone 0.5 BTC is hard to explain without using the word 'dumb'. 

[smyslov]

All the past two months it's been about these scam giveaways, I'm sure those who got victimized are those that are not aware of this kind of giveaway scams, I'm also asking when this will end after the so many scam ICO they are now turning into the giveaway, there are still people who believes in free money in the internet, they cannot stop their greed.