- The most-watched tech channel, Linus Tech Tips, got hacked and promoted two scams.
- The counterfeit “Special Crypto Giveaway” was broadcasted to thousands of people.
- Twitter is outraged about YouTube not taking cautionary measures to prevent phishing.
Linus Sebastian, one of the most popular content creators on YouTube, fell victim to the ongoing scourge of relentless crypto scammers. The fraudsters hacked his Linus Tech Tips channel in the early hours of Friday morning. Over 15 million subscribers expected to see a new video from Linus, but many were left open-mouthed when YouTube didn’t return any results for the channel.
Indeed, the famed YouTuber and computer tech virtuoso has been stuck in the process of uploading a new video and even posted a message on Twitter saying, “wake me up when I have a channel to upload to.”
Crypto Scams Featuring Elon Musk – Common Practice?
Linus’ phishing attack happened in a manner that resembled a trend from crypto hackers in 2022. After taking over the account, the criminals posted two counterfeit videos. One featured Elon Musk nodding his head to music during a “free giveaway campaign” which aimed to swindle subscribers out of their money.
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The second scam video took advantage of trending keywords related to artificial intelligence. The video “OpenAI ChatGPT-4: The Game-Changing AI Technology” lured the YouTube audience into thinking that a quick investment in the counterfeit AI coin would bring juicy returns.
The issue was resolved around seven hours after the hack, and the popular technology specialist released a new video regarding the unpleasant situation. While the reasons behind the hack are still unclear, Linus Sebastian didn’t lose his sense of humor and explained what happened with a ’90s meme.
YouTube in the Hot Seat for Slow Motion
Scams carried out in a similar manner have been going on for months, with high-profile YouTube accounts often targeted. Last year, the British Army’s Twitter and YouTube accounts were stolen to promote a fake NFT collection.
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Several media personalities contacted YouTube about the issue, but not enough has been done.
Finally, it’s unknown how many people actually fell for the bait, as neither YouTube nor Linus Tech Tips commented on the damage done to the viewers.
On The Flipside
- According to Crypto Twitter, ChatGPT suspects that the Linus Tech Tips scam was a publicity stunt by the YouTube star himself.
- Linus Sebastian hadn’t mentioned the financial damage caused to the victims of this hack nor taken any responsibility for the incident.
Why You Should Care
Linus Tech Tips is one of the most popular technology-related channels on YouTube. Crypto-related hacks and phishing scams on YouTube are increasing due to a lack of security.
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