A fraudster posing as Elon Musk walked away with $ 560,000, reports the BBC.
After watching a series on Netflix with his wife at their home in Cologne, Germany, a man sat down on the couch and watched his phone. Then he received a Twitter message apparently coming from Elon Musk, as described by the BBC.
“Musk tweeted, ‘Dojo 4 Doge?’,” The man told the BBC, referring to the cryptocurrency dogecoin. “There was a link to a new event below, so I clicked on it and saw that he was giving away Bitcoin!”
He then follows the link to a legitimate website “where the Bitcoin gift appears to be in full swing”, according to the account.
The fake competition invited participants to send up to 20 bitcoin (more than $ 1 million) and they would double their money. (REUTERS / Benoit Tessier / Illustration)
The fake competition invited participants to send up to 20 bitcoin (more than $ 1 million) and they would double their money. After the man thought he had verified the logo – which was actually fake – next to Musk’s name, he decided to bet on the farm and send 10 bitcoin (at the time about $ 560,000).
And he was reassured when scammers posted answers with an almost identical profile to Elon Musk, the BBC said.
But the money never came. It was then that he realized it was a scam and he lost his early retirement fund.
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It was the most ever lost in a single transaction, the BBC said, citing Whale Alert, which tracks cryptocurrency transactions.
Scammers have already earned $ 18 million in the first three months of this year, obscuring the $ 16 million made in all 12 months in 2020, according to Whale Alert.
Scammers have already earned $ 18 million in the first three months of this year.
(REUTERS / Steve Marcus)
“Unfortunately, it’s very easy for fellow artists to create social media accounts and mimic people,” Bitcoin.org says on its website.
“Often they lie and wait until the person trying to imitate them publishes content. The imitator then responds with a follow-up message or call to action – such as a free giveaway – using an account that looks almost identical to the original. poster or author, “says Bitcoin.org.
And there are countless scam variations.
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Another common one is scam coins.
“Scam coins can appear on a flashy website and / or they boast a large community to create a fear that people who discover it will miss out. It helps early holders push up the price so they can dump their positions and leaving for a profit, “Bitcoin.org says.
More and more common
This is not the first time scammers have tried to capitalize on the Twitter profile of Elon Musk – who has nearly 50 million followers and regularly tweets about cryptocurrency – and other celebrities with large following.
In July 2020, hackers managed to take over the Twitter accounts of celebrities, including Musk, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Mike Bloomberg.
“I’m giving back to the community,” a few tweets said at the time.
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And the scam was similar: double your money.
“All Bitcoin sent to the address below will be doubled! If you send $ 1,000, I will return $ 2,000. Do this for only 30 minutes,” the scam said.