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Cristiano Ronaldo, Cryptocurrency, deepfakes, domians, fake giveaways, Group-IB, Marketplace, Nayib Bukele, Russia, Scam, scam stream, YouTube
Number of Youtube Crypto Stream Scams and Fake Domains Explodes in H1 2022 – Bitcoin News
A report issued by Group-IB, a Singaporean cybersecurity company, has found that the number of cryptocurrency scams using fake domains has exploded during the first half of 2022. The number of these domains has grown fivefold, and most of these campaigns, though registered with Russian registrars, is designed to reach English and Spanish speaking crypto investors.
Domains associated with crypto scams grew tremendously in H1 2022
The number of domains used to carry out cryptocurrency scams has multiplied during the first half of 2022. According to a report issued by Group-IB, a Singapore-based cyber security firm, the number of these domains, which are used as welcome pages. for YouTube scam streams, has grown fivefold during the first half of this year. More than 2,000 of these domains were registered.
Most of these cryptocurrency scam websites use names of famous cryptocurrency related personalities to attract the victims. Among them are the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, and famous soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo, along with other well-known cryptocurrency supporters such as Michael Saylor and Elon Musk.
More than 60% of these domains are registered through Russian companies, but are aimed at Spanish- and English-speaking communities of cryptocurrency investors, which are their main targets.
Youtube fake crypto stream market
The growth of this type of scam is possible due to the existence of an underground market dedicated to selling all the software required to set up a fake Youtube-hosted crypto stream, and the high level of attention these streams receive. Most of these manage to reach an average of 10,000 to 20,000 viewers, attracted by keywords such as ETH, Ark, Shiba and XRP, among others. Regarding this, Group-IB stated:
Scammers have the following at their disposal: an exchange platform for hacked YouTube accounts, viewer boosting services, manuals, website editors, admin panel developers, domain names, bulletproof hosting and tools, and people who can create deeply fake videos.
Deepfakes have become effective tools for hackers who have even managed to create live holograms of exchange employees to deceive representatives of token teams and collect a fee for a potential listing opportunity.
There are also services to create these websites and art to attract people to invest in these scams. The company advises users to be wary of crypto handouts that are too good to be true, and always verify that the sources promoting them are official.
What do you think about the recent explosion in domains promoting cryptocurrency scams? Tell us in the comments section below.
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