Get ready for an influx of Bitcoin scam stories, as the cryptocurrency stays red hot and at the forefront of news cycles for weeks to come. Because of the complexity of crypto in general, you’re going to find a lot of people susceptible of being taken advantage of, including a number of followers of Elon Musk.
Scammers recently have been able to hack into verified Twitter accounts, simply change the name to “Elon Musk,” and respond to the real Elon Musk’s tweets he sends out, asking people to send bitcoins in exchange for receiving a larger amount later.
Believe it or not, people actually have fallen for it. In the past week, scam artists have been able to get roughly $587,000 worth of Bitcoin, according to data compiled from MetaMask and Bleeping Computer.
This isn’t the first time its happened either. Reports in June said scammers pulled the same con and nabbed another $2 million using Musk’s name.
The savvy and social conscious Musk of course has noticed or been informed of this, and even commented on it in a tweet last February. “The crypto scam level on Twitter is reaching new levels. This is not cool.”
The Tesla CEO and second richest person in the world isn’t the only celebrity whose name has been used in a similar scam. The Twitter accounts for Bill Gates and Barack Obama had similar things happen to them.
Add comment