Scammers have been impersonating YouTube channels to display bitcoin scams for a long time. In such scams, the attackers usually lure their victims by offering cryptocurrency giveaways and promising significant returns if users send them a little bitcoin. One such scam has been recently observed related to YouTube channels using SpaceX branding in their campaigns.

The resurgence of cryptocurrency giveaway scams

In the latest campaign, the attackers scammed viewers out of $150,000 in bitcoin between June 7 and June 9, simply by live streaming recorded Elon Musk interviews and SpaceX conference videos.
  • In June 2020, hackers hijacked three YouTube channels 'Juice TV,' 'Right Human,' and 'MaximSakulevich' and renamed to 'SpaceX Live' or 'SpaceX' to promote the scams asking people to send in a small number of Bitcoins to get double the amount back.
  • In April 2020, hackers targeted the cryptocurrency brand Ripple and its CEO Mr. Garlinghouse in fraudulent XRP giveaway scams on YouTube videos.
  • In March 2020, a hacker hijacked tens of YouTube accounts, renamed them to various Microsoft brands (such as Microsoft US, Microsoft Europe, Microsoft News, and others), and broadcasted a cryptocurrency Ponzi scam to tens of thousands of users, posing as a message from the company's former CEO Bill Gates.

Other recent attacks on SpaceX

A large number of threat actors, including the DoppelPaymer crew, have been exfiltrating data from many organizations including SpaceX and others. Here are some recent attacks on SpaceX.
  • In April 2020, the DoppelPaymer Windows ransomware scumbags pilfered and dumped documents outlining SpaceX's manufacturing partner program, in retaliation for an unpaid extortion demand made in March 2020.
  • In March 2020, SpaceX and Visser Precision became the target of a criminal cybersecurity incident, including access to or theft of data by the DoppelPaymer ransomware.
  • In September 2019, the information regarding the failure of a rocket engine by SpaceX was stolen and leaked online by hackers.

Stay safe

In general, users should be skeptical about lucrative and too-good-to-be-true cryptocurrency giveaways or promotions, promising huge returns against a small investment within a short duration. Users should check the legitimate news on the company’s official website.

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