- Scam advertisements on X, particularly targeting Metamask, have surged in recent weeks.
- The decline in reputable advertisers on X has provided scammers with an opportunity to exploit the allure of a Metamask airdrop.
- Crypto users navigating X now face heightened vigilance to avoid falling victim to these scams.
Anyone using X in recent weeks will have noticed a worrying trend – scam adverts are on the rise. This is true in all forms, but there is one particular avenue that seems to be the preserve of the crypto scammer: Metamask. The prospect of a Metamask airdrop has been enticing the crypto world for some time, and scammers are taking advantage of the dropoff in more reputable companies advertising on the platform to air their scams, and X is more than happy to oblige. This has left crypto users having to be wilier than ever in order to avoid getting fooled.
Musk Actions Impact Advertiser Income
Since Elon Musk took over Twitter (and renamed it X), advertisers have been leaving the platform in droves. Disney, IBM, Warner Bros. Discovery, Sony, Comcast, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, and more have withdrawn their adverts from the platform, most notably in the wake of Musk’s comments on social media endorsing a post that propagated harmful stereotypes about Jewish people.
Critics argue that Musk’s actions over this and other matters have driven both users and advertisers away from the platform within a year of his takeover, with the EU reportedly joining in the withdrawal of advertising due to a perceived surge in hate speech and disinformation.
As a consequence, X is potentially facing a substantial financial setback, estimating losses ad revenue losses in the tens of millions, while some 70% of the value of the company has been erased since Musk’s takeover.
Scams on the Rise
The upshot of this has been a huge decline in the quality of the adverts; rather than the latest Disney offering, Lionsgate film, or IBM product, users are now faced with adverts for dodgy-looking dating sites, snake oil products, and, in particular, crypto scams.
Most prominently in recent weeks is the alleged Metamask airdrop, with X users prompted to click the provided links through to the fake website, where they are supposed to be able to claim their free MASK tokens:
Of course, there is no such airdrop, and entering your wallet details on the site will simply allow the scammers to rinse your wallet. Typically the scammers leave comments off for a very obvious reason, but occasionally they forget, allowing respondents to offer warnings:
A Metamask airdrop scam from December 2021 tricked victims into handing over $1 million, and it seems that scammers are hoping for a similar return with a sustained campaign. The irony of this development is that Musk vowed to tackle crypto bots as part of his Twitter buyout. The reality is that they are worse than ever, and now users have scams pushed in their faces every five posts in their timelines.
The fact that X is allowing this, and other scams, crypto and otherwise, to flourish is a direct result of the decimation of their ad income. This has led to the company becoming far less judicious in the quality of the advertiser it accepts, given that it needs every penny it can get.
Unfortunately for users, this leaves them totally unprotected and increases the chances that they fall victim to such scams, especially new entrants into the space, with little to no recourse if they do so.
