Popular YouTuber Scuba Jake has confirmed the hacking of his channel with over 13 million subscribers and 1.75 billion views since the channel’s creation in 2011. The September 9 incident saw crypto scammers take over the channel and attempt to defraud unsuspecting followers in a fake giveaway involving Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). An analysis by Finbold indicates that the scammers made away with 1.01 BTC, equivalent to about $21,000 in the fake crypto giveaway. The analysis was based on QR codes shared by scammers for users to scan before sending the cryptocurrencies. According to Blockchain.com, the Bitcoin wallet shared has recorded four transactions since its creation. The wallet received a total of 1.0107 BTC, the same amount that was also cashed out. It is worth noting that the lost amount could be higher since the scammers might have changed the wallets during the live stream. Elsewhere, the Ethereum wallet analysis indicates no transaction has been made. The scam mirrored other fraudulent incidents on YouTube where scammers use an old interview involving a renowned individual in crypto circles, re-post it as a livestream, and promote the fake giveaway in the information section. It is argued that scammers opt for the live option because it offers more credibility.
Read more : YouTuber with 13 million subscribers hacked by crypto scammers; Here’s how much they stole.
