Cryptocurrency scammers have hijacked the channels of Indian YouTuber and influencer Ranveer Allabadia to promote a scam that promises up to 200% returns on cryptocurrency investments.
On September 25, Allabadia, an Indian content creator, entrepreneur, and social media influencer, became the latest victim of crypto scammers after hackers hijacked and rebranded several of his YouTube channels to broadcast an AI-edited video of Elon Musk urging viewers to invest in a “double your crypto” scam.
His first channel, BeerBiceps, has more than 7.8 million subscribers, along with his personal channel, Ranveer Allahbadia, with more than 9.4 million followers, and a third channel, a podcast with an audience of 1.2 million, that was hacked and renamed to mimic Tesla, the famous car and clean energy company owned by Elon Musk.
The hackers replaced the channels’ logos and handles and deleted all previous content to make them look like official Tesla platforms, with the goal of tricking viewers by distributing fake cryptocurrencies and fraudulent live streams featuring Musk’s image.
In the past, cryptocurrency scammers have long impersonated Musk and his companies, such as SpaceX, to trick crypto enthusiasts without their knowledge.
In this case, the thumbnail also featured US Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, alongside Musk, perhaps in an attempt to capitalize on the hype around the 2024 elections, where cryptocurrencies have become a major topic.
At the time of publishing this report, the videos had been removed but Reports Through multiple views on X, it turns out that one stream had over 149,000 viewers at one time.
As in previous cases, the live streams included a QR code that, when scanned, redirected users to a fake Tesla-branded website featuring a $100 million giveaway.
Users were also greeted by an automated chatbot that described the suspicious gift as an official Musk- and Trump-backed event “to promote cryptocurrency.”
The site displayed wallet addresses for Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Dogecoin (DOGE), and promised to return double the amount of cryptocurrency sent to those wallets. To make it look legitimate, a fake transaction history was also displayed, automatically updating to make it look like people were actually transferring their funds.
A similar site was promoted through fake channels during Apple’s “Glowtime” event on September 9. The malicious actors used these fraudulent channels to mimic the official event, impersonating Apple and CEO Tim Cook.
As of press time, it is unclear how many people have been affected by the scam. However, the attack is particularly concerning given the popularity of Allahbadia’s channels and the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies in India.
No official statement has been issued by Alabadia regarding the incident yet.
This incident was the second attack on a prominent Indian YouTube channel, coming less than a week after the official YouTube channel of the Supreme Court of India was used to publicize phishing links and scams involving Ripple executives and the XRP token.
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