Fake Elon Musk BitCoin Scam

Overview

The Fake Elon Musk BitCoin Scam refers to a series of tweets from hacked verified Twitter accounts with the handle changed to Elon Musk, the founder of tech and automotive company Tesla and aerospace company SpaceX. These tweets have since swindled more than $180,000 from users.

Background

On November 5th, 2018, Bleeping Computer^[1] reported that a series of hacked Twitter accounts were being renamed "Elon Musk" and promoting tweets that encouraged users to join fraudulent giveaways. When users signed up for the giveaway, they would be asked to send "0.1 to 3" bitcoins to verify their address. The tweets read:

"I'm giving 10 000 Bitcoin (BTC) to all community!

"I left the post of director of Tesla, thank you all for your support!

"I decided to make the biggest crypto-giveaway in the world, for all my readers who use Bitcoin."

Developments

According to the bitcoin transaction ledger, the scam pulled in 392 transactions in a single day, equalling more than $180,000 or 28 bitcoins (shown below, left).

Additionally, the scammers also hacked other verified accounts and that stated that the giveaway worked, hoping to give the hack corroboration (shown below, right).

Online Reaction

Online, users complained about the hacked tweets, attempting to reach Twitter for help. Twitter user @JoshMLabelle tweeted,^[2] "Hey, Twitter, "jack":/memes/people/jack-dorsey, you have now promoted 3 fake Elon Musk account bitcoin scams into my feed. How does this keep happening." Twitter ^[3] user @TweetieMcTweets tweeted a 16-part tweet storm about falling for the scam. They wrote, "So @TwitterSupport @jack I fell for the @elonmusk bitcoin scam today. Through hubris, I never thought I would be fooled such a scam. Beyond my own idiocy, there are a few component causes that laid me down that path that I'd like to raise @BBCNews @guardian @carolecadwalla" (respective tweet below, left and right).

Twitter's Response

A Twitter spokesperson told Bleeping Computer:

"We don’t comment on individual accounts for privacy and security reasons. Impersonating another individual to deceive users is a clear violation of the Twitter Rules. Twitter has also substantially improved how we tackle cryptocurrency scams on the platform. In recent weeks, user impressions have fallen by a multiple of 10 in recent weeks as we continue to invest in more proactive tools to detect spammy and malicious activity. This is a significant improvement on previous action rates."

Media Coverage

Several media outlets covered the scam, including BBC,^[4] The Daily Dot, ^[5] Business Insider^[6] and more.

Search Interest

External References