- Through YouTube, cryptocurrency scammers have made millions of cryptocurrencies in the last month.
- Scammers lure their victims through fake giveaways for cryptocurrencies such as: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Cardano, Ripple, and Shiba.
- The scams raised $ 8.2 million in Bitcoin, $ 413,000 in Ethereum, and the Shiba Inu scams raised $ 239,000 in stolen funds.
Although the crypto market has experienced relative maturation over time, Cryptocurrency scams still abound and haunt newer users within the ecosystem.
It is precisely this warning that is inscribed in the latest Tenable report that has been shared with Bitcoin Mexico.
A report from Tenable Research warns the crypto community to be on the lookout for fake cryptocurrency giveaways that abound on social media. However, there is a social network that is especially plagued: YouTube.
Certainly, YouTube scams have been going on for some timeBut, despite this, users continue to be misled. Through this network, after hijacking legitimate YouTube accounts, scammers lure their victims through fake giveaways for cryptocurrencies such as: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Cardano, Ripple, and Shiba.
According to Tenable using a subset of scams detected on YouTube, in the last month alone, scammers have stolen at least $ 8.9 million.
“The Bitcoin scams that I have monitored raised $ 8.2 million in stolen funds, which represents an average amount of $ 1.6 million per scam. Ethereum scams obtained $ 413,000 in stolen funds, receiving an average of $ 82,778 per scam. Ultimately, the Shiba Inu scams raised $ 239,000 in stolen funds, receiving an average of $ 34,192 per scam.“said Satnam Narang, Tenable Research Engineer.
According to Satnam’s research, they are generally employed cryptocurrency tokens that have experienced a significant increase in price along with massive follow-up.
Modus operandi
The research company has found that scammers prey on the confidence that influential personalities inspire, therefore, they create fake videos of the founders and co-founders of cryptocurrencies, as well as personalities relevant to the crypto community who have promoted the use of cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets.
But how do they go about producing a fake video? Well, let’s bear in mind that these recognized personalities have generally offered endless interviews and, therefore, the material to work with is almost unlimited.
In this way, according to Tenable, “lScammers have developed a formula that lends legitimacy to their efforts and that has continued to work for years”.
According to Satnam, notable figures that usually appear are Michael Saylo, CEO of MicroStrategy, Vitalik Buterin, Co-founder of Ethereum, Charles Hoskinson, Founder of Cardado, among others.
However, all the fake streams on YouTube Live have one factor in common that reveals their intentions: They all redirect users to external sites that claim to duplicate their cryptocurrencies.
Also, according to Satnam, usually in these broadcasts there is usually a Tweet, of course, false from the notable figures in which they are apparently talking about the event or giveaway.
Tips to survive a minefield of scams
The crypto market brings great benefits and, consequently, great responsibility. It is because of that Tenable offers us some tips that can avoid falling for scams:
- Skepticism is the norm! If users come across YouTube Live videos that promise giveaways where you win a lot of money it could be a scam.
- Do not transfer your cryptocurrencies to participate in a raffle! Tenable ensures that no sweepstakes should ask to transfer cryptos to participate, most likely it is not genuine. And, of course, users will not be able to recover the cryptocurrencies that were transferred.
- If a user comes across what they suspect may be a scam, they should report it! Tenable explains that specifically on YouTube there is a flag under the video that, when clicked, must select the category “spam or misleading” and then select “scams or fraud.” This way users will help other members of the crypto community to avoid being scammed.
If you want to review more details about Satnam Narang’s research, we invite you to review the Tenable blog. In addition, from Bitcoin Mexico, a guide on the most common scams that you should avoid, we invite you to verify it in the following link.
About Tenable
Tenable is a cybersecurity company founded in 2002. According to its official website, its mission is “to empower all organizations to understand and reduce cybersecurity risk.”
They also ensure that today more than 30,000 organizations around the world trust them to fulfill their mission.
A relevant aspect is that the company is recognized for being the pioneers in the IT vulnerability management market as the creator of Nessus. This is basically a vulnerability scanner.
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