Hackers hijacked established YouTube channels with crypto history to promote fake trading bots, stealing over $939,000 in Ethereum from victims.
Scammers embedded malicious wallet addresses in smart contract code, instantly draining funds when users deployed the contracts with a minimum of 0.5 ETH deposits. Another day, another scam in the crypto planet. Hackers have carried out an elaborate cryptocurrency scam via hacked YouTube channels to advertise malicious trading bots. Cybersecurity researchers have reported that the scheme has stolen more than 256 Ethereum tokens, worth about $939,000.
Scammers Use Aged YouTube Accounts to Build Credibility
Researchers of SentinelLABS found out that scammers are taking over existing YouTube channels with a history of cryptocurrency coverage and investment recommendations. These elderly testimonies give legitimacy and authenticity to their misleading advertisements of automated trading bot software programs.
The fraud works by promising the victims lucrative smart contract code in persuasive video tutorials and testimonials. After users have implemented the given smart contract, hackers insert their wallet addresses under the guise of real trading destinations. By using cryptocurrency to finance their contracts, scammers obtain instant access to drain all the deposited funds.
The researchers found several attacker wallets that contained stolen funds; the biggest single wallet had 244.9 Ethereum tokens valued in thousands. Victims are usually advised to deposit a minimum of 0.5 Ethereum in order to meet the gas fee and have a worthwhile profit. The minimum investment requirement is now about $1,829 at current ETH rates and price fluctuations.
It was found that most of the promotional videos have AI-generated audio and visual information, which enables the criminals to develop numerous personalities. Fraudsters are actively involved in moderating comment sections, deleting negative reviews and leaving false reviews that the bot is profitable.
These fraudulent channels are made to look real because of their history of posts and high engagement levels on the earlier content. It is not clear whether the criminals opened these accounts initially or bought them in the underground markets and channels.
According to security experts, such scams are successful due to the growing complexity of cryptocurrency ecosystems that are becoming hard to comprehend correctly. Users do not take the time to analyze smart contract code well before deployment and thus become susceptible to advanced attacks. Cybersecurity experts highly recommend that cryptocurrency traders should not use any trading tool that is advertised on unverified social media or video. Users need to do their homework and check functionality on their own, and be wary of any promises that seem to promise easy money with no risk.