- A selection of crypto YouTubers had their accounts hacked by scammers yesterday
- Andreas Antonopoulos, Boxmining, and Floyd Mayweather were among those targeted
- The scammer were soliciting for a fake cryptocurrency and used the YouTubers’ fame to collect funds
A selection of crypto YouTubers, both respected and not so respected, had their channels infiltrated by scammers yesterday who tried to use their victims’ notoriety to elicit money through a fake cryptocurrency. Fortunately the attempt doesn’t seem to have been very successful, with only $850 worth of tokens making their way to the wallet collecting the money, but the incident is a reminder to all YouTubers that they can be compromised, seemingly en masse.
YouTubers Compromised by Crypto Scammers
The incident was reported swiftly by those YouTubers affected, including Boxmining, Andreas Antonopoulos, Altcoin Buzz, and even former boxer turned cryptocurrency shill Floyd Mayweather.
The scammers were promoting a fictional cryptocurrency called One World and used the influence of the YouTubers to solicit contributions for the coin. The Binance Smart Chain wallet associated with the listed address showed only $850 worth of donations before the victims took action and removed the videos.
Scammers Located in Philippines
Boxmining was among those to relay his experiences on Twitter, explaining that his personal accounts had no recent logins but that his YouTube brand had a login from the Philippines:
I checked all my personal accounts for recent logins – there are none. HOWEVER, my Youtube brand account has a login from the Philippines ??? pic.twitter.com/CUtChNEz2D
— Boxmining (@boxmining) January 23, 2022
Luckily only a small number of people handed over money before it was flagged up as a scam, but it is quite incredible that people are still falling, and nearly falling, for such obvious scams, just because influencers tell them to buy:
Wow I think lot people was buying. @IvanOnTech___ was sending this . I also almost believe it
— geoffrey (@geoffre51470987) January 23, 2022
Many of the YouTubers were able to take the videos down within minutes of being uploaded, which clearly helped minimize the impact, but questions will now be asked as to how they were able to gain access in the first place.
