How streamjacking and deepfakes enriched hackers by $600,000.
The latest investigation by Bitdefender shows that the number of cryptocurrency scams on YouTube has reached an all-time high. Experts warn that this trend will not change in the near future, and scammers will only increase their turnover.
In their malicious campaigns, attackers use the so-called "stream — jacking" - capturing large and popular YouTube accounts and then launching a live broadcast (stream) with fake cryptocurrency draws and using deepfake technology to imitate famous personalities.
In December 2023, scammers began spreading schemes related to Bitcoin ETFs, focusing on MicroStrategy and its former CEO, Michael Saylor. So, they used Sailor's looped deepfakes to conduct pranks with QR codes.
Deepfake broadcast from the MicroStrategy account, in the frame "former CEO Michael Saylor"
Bitdefender researchers found that scammers have improved their attack methodology by creating content that mimics legitimate news or ads about cryptocurrencies. Some of these attacks successfully circumvent facial recognition systems, which highlights the difficulties in combating such deceptive practices.
The main tactic of the attackers is to promise to double the cryptocurrency of victims who send their funds to these platforms. However, in the end, these funds disappear without a trace. Since the beginning of January of this year, many YouTube users have become victims of such fraudulent campaigns, and the scammers themselves have managed to earn about $600,000 on this.
The most famous channels that were hacked were the official accounts of Tesla, SpaceX. In addition, scammers also create fake channels that mimic the real ones. For example, they used the official SpaceX Starship integrated flight test 2 event to launch fake broadcasts disguised as official ones.
Fake SpaceX Channel with 1.7 million subscribers and a verification tick
In addition to streams, attackers also use YouTube ads using the same methods described above. Why Google moderation skips such commercials remains a mystery.
Deepfake advertising with the current CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse
To protect yourself from such fraud, we recommend that you be careful with unexpected changes to the content of channels, even if you have subscribed to them for a long time. Deepfakes can be detected with the naked eye if you carefully look at the video stream. It is also critically important to double-check the links you follow, avoid any crypto investments and other questionable adventures.
If the offer seems too good to be true, it's probably a scam. Don't let the deepfakes cheat you out of your savings.
The latest investigation by Bitdefender shows that the number of cryptocurrency scams on YouTube has reached an all-time high. Experts warn that this trend will not change in the near future, and scammers will only increase their turnover.
In their malicious campaigns, attackers use the so-called "stream — jacking" - capturing large and popular YouTube accounts and then launching a live broadcast (stream) with fake cryptocurrency draws and using deepfake technology to imitate famous personalities.
In December 2023, scammers began spreading schemes related to Bitcoin ETFs, focusing on MicroStrategy and its former CEO, Michael Saylor. So, they used Sailor's looped deepfakes to conduct pranks with QR codes.
Deepfake broadcast from the MicroStrategy account, in the frame "former CEO Michael Saylor"
Bitdefender researchers found that scammers have improved their attack methodology by creating content that mimics legitimate news or ads about cryptocurrencies. Some of these attacks successfully circumvent facial recognition systems, which highlights the difficulties in combating such deceptive practices.
The main tactic of the attackers is to promise to double the cryptocurrency of victims who send their funds to these platforms. However, in the end, these funds disappear without a trace. Since the beginning of January of this year, many YouTube users have become victims of such fraudulent campaigns, and the scammers themselves have managed to earn about $600,000 on this.
The most famous channels that were hacked were the official accounts of Tesla, SpaceX. In addition, scammers also create fake channels that mimic the real ones. For example, they used the official SpaceX Starship integrated flight test 2 event to launch fake broadcasts disguised as official ones.
Fake SpaceX Channel with 1.7 million subscribers and a verification tick
In addition to streams, attackers also use YouTube ads using the same methods described above. Why Google moderation skips such commercials remains a mystery.
Deepfake advertising with the current CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse
To protect yourself from such fraud, we recommend that you be careful with unexpected changes to the content of channels, even if you have subscribed to them for a long time. Deepfakes can be detected with the naked eye if you carefully look at the video stream. It is also critically important to double-check the links you follow, avoid any crypto investments and other questionable adventures.
If the offer seems too good to be true, it's probably a scam. Don't let the deepfakes cheat you out of your savings.
