A crypto schemer observed an opportunity during the most recent launch ceremony for the Apple iPhone 14, and he took advantage of it.
An old interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook masqueraded as a business cryptocurrency event on YouTube.
According to The Verge, fraudsters leveraged Apple’s latest product releases to deceive consumers into thinking they were watching Tim Cook talk about Web3 to peddle a crypto scam.
The feed routed hundreds of viewers who had been following Apple’s Far Out event to a site asking funding from bitcoin investors.
Crypto frauds on YouTube
“Apple Event Live. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook: Apple & Metaverse in 2022” and a dubious URL in the video description may have sparked doubts, but social media’s role in crypto frauds has made them a billion-dollar market, preying on individuals without the ability to recognise warning flags.
The Verge reported on a separate live feed allegedly featuring Cook and Elon Musk discussing the metaverse. The stream was a republishing of Musk and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s online conversation. It had more than 10,000 views, like the false crypto feed.
Bad actors host YouTube live streams that misuse tech conversations to steal Bitcoin from users.
Cons frequently use the fame of an unsuspecting public figure and present themselves as “get rich quick” or “giveaway” programmes.
Fraudulent’sponsored’ adverts and other visual content can surface across all media channels. Facebook’s parent company Meta was sued in April for failing to curb scams on its services.
Web users should think carefully about the links they open to avoid these scams. Consumers should invest in a firewall beyond the one offered by their operating system, and businesses should invest in endpoint protection to secure their entire network of devices.