07 Dec 2022
Twitter trolls pretending to be Elon Musk continue to plan crypto giveaway scams
According to recent reports, Twitter continues to be a breeding ground for scams and impersonations of famous global billionaire Elon Musk. Users of the crypto-focused social media platform Twitter have lost money to "giveaways" offered by some accounts.
Scammers have infiltrated Musk's account
As reported by Bleep Computer, the recent "Freedom Giveaway" scam targets Twitter users who follow Elon Musk, Tesla, SpaceX, and associated accounts.
In one example, an "Elon" account compiled a "Deal of the Year" shortlist that promises victims up to 5,000 Bitcoin in exchange for a small initial investment.
For various reasons, bots and threat actors can easily access the list of followers for any public Twitter account, including Musks.
The tweet from the fake account claimed that 1,000 new followers would be selected randomly to participate in the most significant crypto giveaway ever.
Some people have been waiting with bated breath to join a phishing link. Crypto Since fatal attacks are common in the crypto ecosystem; Twitter warns its users to stay away.
There are currently 155 members of the list thanks to the efforts of its administrator (the threat actor). In light of recent scrutiny, it has become clear that these accounts were following Elon Musk, Tesla, SpaceX, and other businesses on Twitter.
Underneath the list's title, "Deal of the Year," is the actual user name of the fake account, "@CroweYoshiko," and its profile picture, the Twitter logo, lends credibility to the account.
Twitter users should be on guard
The advertised URL, freedomgiveaway.net, is convincing because Musk is an outspoken advocate of the right to free expression and has engaged in contentious tactics to steer Twitter in that direction.
Once visitors to freedomgiveaway.net confirm that they "are over 18 years," the site presents them with a series of fake quiz questions about Tesla, StarLink, and Musk. The general public generally knows the solutions to these.
After answering the three to four questions, the user is presented with a screen asking for their Bitcoin wallet address.
The user is prompted to enter their Bitcoin address and select between Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), Binance Coin (BNB), or "I don't use cryptocurrency."
A $0.00 balance in the "Freedom Giveaway" scam's virtual wallet indicates that the con artist has not yet fooled anyone into sending them money.
It serves their interests for the public scam to continue. It's possible, though, that the fraud is relatively recent and contains elements that could be convincing.
The Twitter accounts of famous people should be on the lookout for threatening posts and direct messages.
The number of cryptocurrency giveaway scam domains has tripled this year, according to a report published in September by cybersecurity firm Group-IB.
In addition, a McAfee and BleepingComputer investigation published in May found that phony cryptocurrency giveaways used videos from Elon's Ark Invest YouTube channel to lure victims to bogus scam domains.
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