The number of crypto scams on YouTube explodes 335% in the first half of 2022
Crypto scams involving fake payouts have grown into a sort of black market industry with multiple services designed to support fraudulent activities.
Group-IB, a Singaporean cybersecurity company, revealed in a report that the incidence of cryptocurrency scams involving fake domains, which are used as welcome pages for YouTube scam streams, skyrocketed in the first half of this year.
In the first six months of this year, Group-IB identified more than 2,000 domains registered to be used as fake advertising websites.
Crypto Scam Balloons at Alarming 335%
The number of these domains represents a 335% increase over the volume registered in 2021, with the majority of operations, despite being registered with Russian entities, targeting English- and Spanish-speaking crypto-investors.
In February of this year, researchers discovered an increase in the number of crypto scams and fake YouTube streams featuring prominent figures such as Elon Musk, Christian Ronaldo, Brad Garlinghouse, Michael J. Saylor and Cathie Wood.
Group-IB reported that the crypto scam operators used videos of well-known entrepreneurs and crypto enthusiasts to convince users to visit an advertising website to double their crypto investment by transferring crypto to a specified location or revealing details of their crypto wallet in exchange for better returns.
Popular YouTuber Scuba Jake recently confirmed that his channel, which has more than 13 million subscribers and 1.75 billion views since it started in 2011, was hacked.
On September 9, crypto scammers took over the channel and tried to trick followers into giving them money through a fake Bitcoin and Ethereum giveaway.
The expansion of this type of scam is made possible by the existence of an underground market devoted to the sale of all the software necessary to create a fake YouTube-hosted crypto stream, as well as the high level of attention and knowledge that these streams use. .
Fraudsters’ level of sophistication is expanding
Keywords such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Shiba Inu, and XRP, to name a few, get an average of 10,000 to 20,000 readers to most websites.
As previously reported, between January and March this year, researchers uncovered 583 fraudulent websites linked to the operation. During the second quarter, the team found over 1,500 additional domains created by fraudsters to promote fraudulent gifts.
Group-IB stated: “Scams targeting crypto-enthusiasts are becoming more widespread, and their breadth and sophistication are expanding.”
The Singaporean cyber security company noted that crypto scams have evolved into “a lucrative illegal market segment where petty fraudsters and more sophisticated cybercriminals work together to systematize and improve their operations.”
Meanwhile, cybercriminals have even been able to generate live holograms of exchange staff to trick victims and collect a fee for a future listing opportunity using deep fakes. A deepfake video featuring a celebrity cost about $30 to produce.
Crypto total market cap at $892 billion on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com Featured image from Business Insider, Chart: TradingView.com
