A scam artist posing as Elon Musk left with $ 560,000, the BBC reported.
After a man watched a series on Netflix with his wife at his home in Cologne, Germany, he sat on the couch and looked at the phone. Then he received a notification on Twitter that appeared to be from Elon Musk, as described by the BBC.
“Musk tweeted, ‘Dojo 4 Doge?'”, The man told the BBC, referring to the cryptocurrency dogecoin. “There was a link to a new event below, so I clicked on it and saw that it was giving Bitcoin!”
He then followed the link to a legitimate-looking website “where the Bitcoin offer seemed to be in full swing,” according to the report.
The fake competition invited participants to send up to 20 bitcoins (well over $ 1 million) and they would double their money. (REUTERS / Benoit Tessier / Illustration)
The fake competition invited participants to send up to 20 bitcoins (well over $ 1 million) and they would double their money. After the man thought he checked the logo – which was actually a fake – next to Musk’s name, he decided to bet on the farm and sent 10 bitcoins (approximately $ 560,000 at the time).
And he was at ease when the scammers posted responses using a profile almost identical to that of Elon Musk, the BBC said.
But the money never came. That’s when he realized it was a scam and lost his early retirement fund.
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It was the largest number ever lost in a single transaction, the BBC said, citing Whale Alert, which tracks cryptocurrency transactions.
The scammers have already earned $ 18 million in the first three months of this year, surpassing the $ 16 million made in all 12 months in 2020, according to Whale Alert.
The scammers have already won $ 18 million in the first three months of this year.
(REUTERS / Steve Marcus)
“Unfortunately, it is very easy for con artists to create social media accounts and impersonate people,” says Bitcoin.org on its website.
“Often, they wait until the person trying to impersonate them publishes the content. The forger then responds with a follow-up message or call to action – like a free offer – using an account that looks almost identical to the author or original author, “says Bitcoin.org.
And there are countless variations of scams.
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Another common one is fraudulent currencies.
“Fraudulent currencies can present a flashy website and / or boast a large community to create the fear of losing the effect on the people who discover them. This helps the first holders to increase the price so that they can get rid of and exit their positions with profit, “Bitcoin.org says.
Increasingly common
It is not the first time that scammers have attempted to capitalize on the Twitter profile of Elon Musk – who has almost 50 million followers and often tweets about cryptocurrency – and other famous people with many followers.
In July 2020, hackers were able to control the Twitter accounts of famous people, including Musk, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Mike Bloomberg.
“I’m giving back to the community,” said some tweets at the time.
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And the scam was similar: double your money.
“All Bitcoins sent to the address below will be returned in double! If you send $ 1,000, I will refund $ 2,000. Doing so for just 30 minutes,” said the scheme.