Crypto scammers are increasingly turning to new and novel ways to target potential victims, according to new research. And YouTube is proving to be the latest key hunting ground.

An investigation by researchers at Kaspersky shows that scammers are now prowling the comments section under YouTube videos to promote fake crypto services and offer cheap prices for certain currencies.

The scams typically see attackers target top-trending videos and leave comments promoting a fake “breach” in the crypto market. The messages usually include eye-catching statistics and are amplified using bots to reach as many users as possible.

With this particular scheme, scammers encourage viewers to visit the author’s YouTube channel and watch a video that provides ‘instructions’ on how to capitalise on a fake exchange rate bug.

Researchers at Kaspersky say the videos are fabricated, with edits in the exchange rows visible to the naked eye. Notably, the comments section of these videos are almost always filled with “overjoyed feedback” from bot-driven users claiming instant success.

Links promoted under these videos lead the unwitting victim to a fraudulent exchange platform to exchange Bitcoin.

“Once a user arrives on the webpage linked in the description, the victim sees a facility to exchange bitcoin,” researchers explained. “But if they use it, they will never see this money again, as the service is fake.”

Mikhail Sytnik, a security expert at Kaspersky, said the turbulent state of the crypto market is fuelling the rise of this new type of scam.

“Cryptocurrency is coping with difficult times because of a constant drop in exchange rates,” he said. “Those who want to buy currency at the best price are frequently being targeted by fraudsters.”

“Our recent investigation shows that today attackers resort to new, and more mainstream ways to reach their victims – even considering their YouTube preferences,” Sytnik added.

Social Media Targeting

YouTube has previously been criticised for failing to tackle the rise of crypto-related scams on the platform.

An investigation by BBC News last month found that cybercriminals are now hijacking popular accounts and streaming fake Elon Musk videos to dupe viewers.

The videos often promote fake cryptocurrency giveaway schemes that claim require users to send cryptocurrency in order to win a prize from the SpaceX and Tesla founder. The videos accumulated tens of thousands of views in a matter of days and fooled thousands of unsuspecting users.

Following the investigation, Musk suggested that the platform was failing to address the growing issue and called on YouTube to accelerate its practice of removing channels reported for fraudulent activity.

YouTube isn’t unique with regard to cryptocurrency scams. Earlier this week, the British Army Twitter account was hijacked and used to promote NFTs.

The hijacking was reminiscent of a previous incident in 2022 in which high-profile Twitter account – including Jeff Bezos and former US President Barack Obama – were hacked and used to promote Bitcoin.

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