Elon crypto giveaway

Even as I was writing this article I received a report of another verified Twitter account British high street retailer matalan which had begun spewing out a bogus crypto-giveaway. What should Twitter do about scams like this? Well, they need to recognise that whatever it is currently doing about hijacked verified accounts spreading scams and even buying ads to promote scams is clearly not working. Twitter already has a way to dramatically reduce the chances of a Twitter account being compromised — two-step verification via a third-party app like Google Authenticator.

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Content:

• Cryptocurrency scams are all over social media. Don't get duped
• The most outlandish recent scams
• New "Elon Musk Club" crypto giveaway scam promoted via email
• Elon Musk Impersonators Have Made Over $2 Million in Crypto Scams
• Bitcoin: Fake Elon Musk giveaway scam 'cost man £400,000'
• More Than a Dozen Verified Twitter Accounts Hacked to Impersonate Elon Musk, Steal Bitcoin
• One of the top Just Chatting channels on Twitch is a bitcoin scam, and it’s making thousands
• A New Crypto Giveaway Scam Is Promoted Via Email
• Elon Musk-Impersonating Scammers Receive $62,654 in Bitcoin from Another Unaware Victim
• Elon Musk Impostors Scammed $2 Million in Cryptocurrency, U.S. Says

WATCH RELATED VIDEO: Elon Musk is NOT giving away free bitcoin! - Bitcoin Giveaway Scam

Cryptocurrency scams are all over social media. Don't get duped

Mix two hot trending names — cryptocurrency and Elon Musk — and, well, you've got a recipe for ripping people off. Face it, Las Vegas wouldn't be Vegas without Elvis impersonators.

As the Bitcoin buzz has been building, scammers have been dangling bogus investments, pretending to be someone else at times and duping consumers in record numbers. Some victims, according to the FTC, also reported losing money to scammers posing as Coinbase, a well-known cryptocurrency exchange.

A Troy resident told police in March, for example, about being contacted by a so-called crypto-coin website that wanted her to send money to convert into crypto coin. Chase Bank later contacted her regarding possible fraud on her account where tens of thousands of dollars suddenly were being transferred from savings to checking.

The bank stopped all the wire transfers and changed account numbers. Consumers, though, need to be aware that scammers have access to all sorts of information that's already out there and have been working hard to hack accounts. Passwords can be stolen in data breaches and if you use the same password everywhere, crooks have easier access to a variety of accounts.

It's recommended to contact a bank right away when you suspect that you could be a target. Some reportedly saw YouTube videos that highlighted a supposed cryptocurrency giveaway from Musk. Later, of course, you learn that you just converted your cash and sent bitcoins or another cryptocurrency to a scammer. Not surprisingly, people tend to talk about where they work or what they do when they meet on a dating app or elsewhere. But lately, some people are developing a love interest online who claims to be an investment professional or talks up how to make big money by investing in a new, and ultimately phony, cryptocurrency deal.

Amy Nofziger, director of victim support for the AARP Fraud Watch Network, said one consumer complained after meeting someone on the Zoosk dating app who told her that he made a great deal of money by investing in bitcoins.

When he suggested that she should invest too, she protected her savings by telling him that she didn't want to discuss money with him. Investment scams, of course, build as more people hear what seems like a novel way to make big money in cryptocurrency. There are no investment guarantees, of course. Nofziger also said it's quite possible that the woman from church wasn't even making the pitch. A scammer could have hacked into the woman's Facebook account to seem more legitimate and promote the phony investment, she said.

Many millennials who mock their parents or more experienced co-workers by saying they'd never fall for anything that dumb are indeed losing real money to cryptocurrency scams.

The scams might sound improbable, but con artists know how to work some people into feeling they need to take action. Scammers don't care about demographics. And many times, younger consumers are more likely to be victims of cryptocurrency scams because they're eager to make money and they're frequently on social media where some scams are pitched. Since October , those ages 20 through 49 are over five times more likely to report losing money on cryptocurrency investment scams than older age groups, according to the FTC.

More: Not having a bank account is costing metro Detroiters big money. As with any pitch, potential investors must run for cover if suddenly someone is promising outstanding returns, such as making 10 times the amount of money you originally invest. Is someone trying to sell you unregistered securities? Or are they providing misleading information when it comes to the risks or the actual deal itself?

But Michigan regulators ultimately issued a cease and desist order last year for Mintage Mining and BC Holdings and Investments and under a settlement the entities agreed to pay civil fines and that they will not conduct any business in Michigan regulated under the Securities Act.

Some of these deals can run like Ponzi scams where initially you do get a good payout, but that part of the scam is only designed to get you to lure in more friends and family.

A Midland man reached out through LinkedIn a few years ago to contact a former co-worker who was living in Montana about a can't-miss cryptocurrency deal. The man claimed to work for CoinPoint, an internet advertising company that pushed people to participating company websites, and that CoinPoint was looking for investors, according to the U.

Attorney's Office in the District of Montana. Based on the return, the first victim talked with a second victim and some of his friends and family members.

Much of the money taken in from the friends and family was never converted to virtual currency or forwarded to Thomas. Victim 1 asked to be included on communications with CoinPoint and started receiving emails from various purported CoinPoint employees," according to the Department of Justice. But the FBI later determined the email addresses were fake and associated with another domain name — coinpointpartners.

Investigators also determined that Thomas had registered the fake domain name, coinpointpartners. While scammers continue to ask for gift cards — perhaps calling them "electronic vouchers" — experts say cryptocurrency is another way for con artists to get easy access to money and remain anonymous. Nofziger said scammers often go online to find an ATM that offers bitcoins and just happens to be the closest one to your house.

Then they might direct you to that location. Many times, you might just have to go to a grocery store or gas station nearby to find an ATM that offers bitcoins. The scammer might even give a name of that ATM and never mention Bitcoin. The celebrity connection, Nofziger said, seems to be growing in popularity. Lately, she said, con artists have been impersonating wrestlers and country stars. Or they might pretend to be someone from the public relations team of one of those stars.

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The most outlandish recent scams

According to the MalwareHunterTeam Twitter account, the scammers used at least 20 unverified accounts of the social media platform, designed to resemble the real SNL account, to promote the fake crypto giveaway by Musk. The victims were then convinced to send small amounts of crypto to verify their addresses, being told they would receive around ten times the amount in return. The scam has echoes of a previous effort by hackers to steal crypto from unsuspecting punters in July last year when hijackers took control of the Twitter accounts of several high profile celebrities, business figures and politicians in order to promote a bogus Bitcoin giveaway. Bitcoin edged cautiously higher from six-month lows as global markets took stock at the end of a wild week and investors hunted for bargains in some digital tokens after the heavy selling of the past month. The largest digital currency by market value gained 2. Registered in England with Company Registration number

New "Elon Musk Club" crypto giveaway scam promoted via email

The Dogecoin website on a smartphone. In reality, unsuspecting victims were left wondering why they believed they could get something for nothing amid speculation Musk might promote the digital currency. A Monday report from TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence provider, detailed how this latest iteration of the long-running cryptocurrency scheme played out. I just went from having savings for this first time in my life to 60 bucks in my pocket. By Brandon Kochkodin. Article type: free. Join our Telegram channel to get our Evening Alerts and breaking news highlights.

Elon Musk Impersonators Have Made Over $2 Million in Crypto Scams

But others who got in early now spend the rest of their lives knowing they missed out on the technology gold rush thanks to truly agonising human error. Now that an estimated million people around the world own some amount of Bitcoin, more and more horror stories of how people missed out on a life-changing fortune are coming to light. Here are some spectacular disasters from people who definitely do regret their Bitcoin blunders — including those who lost their savings to a fake Elon Musk. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that was created in by an anonymous founder using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto.

Bitcoin: Fake Elon Musk giveaway scam 'cost man £400,000'

In a viral tweet, Musk posted a meme suggesting that the cryptocurrency, which was introduced as a joke cryptocurrency in , could take over and become the global reserve currency. Prices may rise and fall with little to no warning. Check your inbox for confirmation email. Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.

More Than a Dozen Verified Twitter Accounts Hacked to Impersonate Elon Musk, Steal Bitcoin

The incident sets itself apart from other previous scams as it used a verified account to circulate false information through a promoted tweet. Promoted tweets are paid posts commonly used by advertisers to expand its audience reach beyond their existing account followers, leveraging on search trends to increase visibility as well as boost performance. As it stands, Twitter has been increasingly garnering flak in recent months due to the proliferation of crypto giveaway scams. In August , Duo Security has published a research, presenting evidence of a massive three-tiered crypto giveaway botnet that utilizes fake Twitter accounts to make it appear that real Twitter users were interacting with the organizers of the giveaway. The giveaway scam has been a long-standing issue on Twitter that even Musk himself is well aware of, having previously discussed its prevalence in September. In an effort to mitigate the proliferation of the scam solicitation on his feed, Musk sought aid from members of the crypto community, including Jackson Palmer, creator of the Dogecoin. Sign in.

One of the top Just Chatting channels on Twitch is a bitcoin scam, and it’s making thousands

Federal Trade Commission said on Monday in noting a jump in complaints about cryptocurrency fraud since October. In one type of scam, people are told that if they give a certain amount of crytocurrency to a "celebrity" they will get more back. Musk had been a supporter of cryptocurrencies but recently knocked dogecoin by calling it "a hustle" on national television.

A New Crypto Giveaway Scam Is Promoted Via Email

The promise of payment of a sizable sum in return for a small payment is a classic scam that has been conducted in various forms for many years. This week an interesting variation of the scam has been conducted on Twitter that has been surprisingly effective. The donation, it was claimed, was as a thank you for the support Elon Musk had received since he left the post of director of Tesla in what promised to be the biggest Bitcoin giveaway ever. All that was required was for participants to pay a token amount 0. Elon Musk promised to pay back times the amount that was paid. To encourage larger donations, anyone sending 0.

Elon Musk-Impersonating Scammers Receive $62,654 in Bitcoin from Another Unaware Victim

Julie Bushnell, a teacher who lives in England, came across what she thought was a legitimate news article on a website that appeared to pose as the BBC news outlet. The fake article reportedly claimed that U. Bushnell realized she had fallen for a scam after the money was not returned to her. She added: "I want to raise awareness of this scam so it doesn't happen to other vulnerable people. We are taking action to have the site closed down. It added: "About Elon Musk, more blame probably lies with the media that have created an image of an eccentric, or even erratic, billionaire.

Elon Musk Impostors Scammed $2 Million in Cryptocurrency, U.S. Says

Researchers at Bitdefender warn that cybercriminals continue to impersonate Elon Musk in Bitcoin scams. Interestingly, another variation of the campaign used a QR code pointing to a Bitcoin address to fool recipients. This scam campaign has reached over 30, users across the globe.