Published on: July 19, 2024
Researchers discovered a new stream-jacking scam that’s leveraging the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump to promote a crypto-doubling scam.
Dozens of hijacked YouTube accounts suddenly began playing footage of Elon Musk making cryptic statements about how he would soon reveal important secrets about the assassination attempt that was recently made on Trump during a political rally.
Many of the stolen accounts had their channel names changed to Elon Musk, Tesla, or Donald Trump Jr. This was done to make the channels look as official as possible. Some stolen channels had their original videos deleted, including one with 1.36 million subscribers.
At the same time that Musk was speaking and preparing people for the coming reveals, hackers were orchestrating a crypto-doubling scheme on stream. These types of scams encourage victims to place crypto in an unknown wallet in hopes of it being doubled. Normally, they never get their money back.
In this case, a QR code on the corner of the stream directed users to a fraudulent cryptocurrency website.
The video was streamed across dozens of accounts, with many immediately noticing that something felt off about the stream. The footage is not real. Dozens of streams each displayed this deepfaked video.
“Former President Donald Trump was the target of an apparent assassination attempt Saturday at a Pennsylvania rally, just days before he was to accept the Republican nomination for a third time,” states the fake Elon Musk. “Amidst a barrage of gunfire, a bloodied Trump, who reported being shot in the ear, was surrounded by Secret Service and hurried to his SUV, all while defiantly pumping his fist.”
“The incident set off panic at the rally, with many attendees seeking cover from the unexpected violence. Billionaire Elon Musk reacted to the incident, stating Saturday evening that he “fully” supports Donald Trump. Musk’s statement has added a new dimension to the unfolding events, as he also hinted at potential political endorsements in the upcoming election. #Tesla #Musk #Trump.”
This campaign may not be over, so if you see this stream, immediately report it