Roughly two weeks ago, the world was shocked to learn that several high-profile Twitter accounts had been hijacked for the purpose of gaining access to bitcoin. Now, it looks like the same scam is being pulled on YouTube, with a few noticeable differences.
YouTube and Twitter Are Seeing Similarities
Twitter experienced a massive breach that saw the accounts of several individuals – including former president Barack Obama, his vice president Joe Biden, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Microsoft executive Bill Gates – taken over by hackers who sought to promote a fraudulent bitcoin scam. They promised unsuspecting users that by sending their bitcoins to anonymous crypto addresses, they would have their funds doubled.
However, this turned out to not be the case, and the hackers in question were simply looking to get their paws on money that wasn’t theirs. The good news is that the event didn’t amount to much. Only $121,000 in digital funds were taken, which is a small figure compared to some of the heavy-duty hacks that have occurred in crypto’s short yet significant history, but the idea that such a large social media platform could be taken over in such a way really scared people.
Now, it looks like a similar scenario is taking place on YouTube. Just last week, several people clicked on videos expecting to see the historic return of SpaceX astronauts. However, what they got were videos that promised to double their digital money if they were willing to send bitcoin to specific addresses. This is the same scam tactic that was witnessed on Twitter.
As frightening as this may look, one seriously wonders if this is a tactic that can survive much longer. This just took place over Twitter, and it’s probable to think that many people – specifically crypto holders – are on the lookout for similar scenarios. Like the old saying goes, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,” and it’s plausible to assume that most crypto holders aren’t looking to get fooled twice.
Elon Musk Is at the Center… Again
These videos are employing the exact same methods for gaining access to illicit bitcoin, and it’s not likely that anybody would fall for this again. Their hack radar has been beeping since the Twitter fiasco, not to mention that things like this have occurred multiple times on YouTube involving figures like Elon Musk, who is not only the head of SpaceX from which the scam videos are being directed, but was also one of the center figures of the Twitter scheme.
The primary difference this time around appears to be that while Twitter was allegedly an inside job, the YouTube videos have potentially been taken over by individual outside parties. Either way, what this proves more than anything is that the crypto space is still an open haven for thieves.