An Apple crypto scam on YouTube attracted thousands of viewers
What's the story
Scams are a headache for the crypto industry and malicious elements are trying new methods to dupe unsuspecting individuals. On Wednesday, while Apple CEO Tim Cook and his team were announcing the new iPhones and other hardware, a scammer reshaped his old interview to draw attention to a fake crypto website. The worrying part? Tens of thousands tuned in to watch this.
Fake elements
What gave away the scam?
There were several indications of the stream being fake. Firstly, it showed Cook's CNN interview from 2018. Next, it had a title that said "Apple Event Live. Ceo of Apple Tim Cook: Apple & Metaverse in 2022." The scammer also added Bitcoin and Ethereum logos, a text reading "URGENT NEWS," to the stream, and redirected viewers to a URL without any association with Apple.
Details
Another stream with over 10,000 viewers was pulled down
Another shady YouTube stream titled "Apple Inc" was also found. It had over 10,000 viewers and was redirecting users to another shady crypto portal. The video repurposed an interview of Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk about Bitcoin into an event where Cook was talking about Apple and the metaverse. Thankfully, YouTube has removed both videos for violating its terms of service.
Information
Why do scammers use such methods?
Criminal elements use the name of a famous person/brand to fool unsuspecting victims into sending cryptocurrency to their wallets. They promise them that the sum will be doubled in return. Such types of crypto scams are very popular.
Stealing
Crypto theft is a big nuisance
There have been some high-profile instances of crypto theft. The CEO of MicroStrategy (which provides cloud-based services) Michael Saylor is considered to be a prominent bitcoin proponent. Malicious individuals received over $1 million in his name from 42 people in November 2021. Around $100,000 worth of Bitcoin was also transferred to an account impersonating him in December last year.