As Apple’s highly anticipated September 2022 ‘Far Out‘ event started to broadcast on YouTube, a crypto scam was identified to be running on a parallel YouTube stream. drawing in tens of thousands of viewers after pulling footage from Apple’s previous ‘Unleashed‘ event.
CNBC reported that, during the parallel fake stream of the Apple event, the scammers promised Ethereum (ETH) airdrops in return for donations of an amount of Bitcoin to a specified wallet.
The fake streaming included an old interview from Apple CEO Tim Cook, conducted by CNN in 2018. The scammers were able to grab the attention of viewers by getting the video to the top of search results during the iPhone event using a slew of Apple-related keywords.
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The video announced that Apple would buy 100,000 BTC and organise a giveaway event, next to an old interview of Cook.
Video Removed by YouTube
The video titled “Apple Event Live. CEO of Apple Tim Cook: Apple & Metaverse in 2022.” was later removed by YouTube for violating its terms of service.
The fake stream attempted to con those aware of the big Apple launch event into participating in their phishing attempt. According to media reports, the fake YouTube account was designed in a crude attempt to copy Apple’s official presence. Once users clicked into the channel’s page, they were redirected to the fake crypto scam website.
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This is not the first time fraudsters have tried to scam users during an Apple event. This time last year, scammers tricked a whopping 165,000 people into watching a fake YouTube stream during 2021’s September Apple event.
Recently, Elon Musk lambasted YouTube for running nonstop scam advertisements. The CEO and Chief Engineer of SpaceX, who called off his $44 billion deal with Twitter over concerns about botted accounts, believes that YouTube is not doing enough to crack down on such illicit schemes.
Apple’s Push Towards Digital Wallets
Recently, Apple announced a “tap-to-pay” feature, which will be implemented this year. The new function provides the possibility for merchants with iPhones to receive contactless payments via their NFC chip connection.
The feature will be added to Apple Pay, which already supports credit and debit cards, as well as other digital wallets. Therefore, buyers will be able to use any card, either physical or virtual that is already connected to their Apple Pay profile, at a payment terminal with the click of a button. Importantly for crypto enthusiasts, since Coinbase and Crypto.com cards are supported by Apple Pay, receiving crypto payments looks set to become smoother and easier than ever.
Incidentally, the first company to offer the tap to pay feature on iPhones will be Stripe, which promised to return to the crypto market in 2022.
On the Flipside
- Rcenetly, YouTube was criticised for not doing enough to tackle a network of cyber-criminals that has been streaming fake Elon Musk videos to promote bogus cryptocurrency giveaways to scam viewers.
Why You Should Care
It seems all too easy to draw investors into crypto scams simply by using the Apple name and the trust it brings, as clearly indicated by the repetition of the scam on a yearly basis.
More on Apple and Web 3.0 technologies:
With a New Apple iPhone Feature, Cryptocurrency Payments May Become Easy Peasy Crypto Squeezy
