Beware! Fake Elon Musk scam reports misleading people to invest in Bitcoin for Tesla

Virtual currency scams are rampant, using "celebrity distraction" to deceive people who lack discernment and basic knowledge, causing serious losses.

On the 17th, Maisie Williams, who played "Arya Stark" in "Game of Thrones," asked her fans to vote on "whether to invest in Bitcoin," attracting the cryptocurrency community once again. Scammers also seized this opportunity, attempting to deceive people with Bitcoin and Ethereum using Elon Musk's posts.

What's going on?

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A Fake Elon Musk in Action

The real Tesla founder Elon Musk did respond to Maisie Williams' tweet: "Toss a bitcoin to ur Witcher" with "Your Witcher who needs some BTC." Following that, another "Musk" tweet appeared:

"Witchers, come on in." accompanied by a link named musk-giving. Despite the account having the verified blue checkmark on Twitter, the account name is actually different: @bagder. This account attempts to deceive people who are unfamiliar with Twitter or lack internet savvy by mimicking the real Musk.

https://twitter.com/bagder/status/1328587539037495297?s=21

Upon closer inspection of this verified account with the blue checkmark, you will find that its owner, Daniel Stenberg, has stated on his personal website: "My Twitter account has been compromised for cryptocurrency scams."

A Clever yet Amusing Scam Website

Entering this website takes the absurdity up a notch.

Upon entering the site, it looks similar to the blogging platform Medium, with the author being Elon Musk. The fake news report states that Tesla's marketing department came up with an idea to give back to the crypto community.

The scam report claims that the airdrop project will reward participants with double bonuses, simply by sending 0.1 to 20 BTC or 2 to 200 ETH, promising double rewards and limited giveaways of five thousand bitcoins and twenty thousand ethers. The content reads:

"If you send 4 bitcoins or 150 ethers, you will win the grand prize: a brand-new Midnight Silver Tesla Model S Performance... After completion, message us privately, and we will contact you promptly."

Upon closer examination, although the webpage resembles Medium, there is no column by Elon Musk on Medium. Clicking on the Elon Musk author link on the scam page leads to the genuine Elon Musk's Twitter.

This website even fabricates likes, celebrity responses, and login page functions. Do not attempt to log in on this site to avoid potential account breaches.

This fake website also links to another site claiming to be endorsed by Musk, offering phishing addresses. According to investigations, the current scam Bitcoin address holds 0.98 bitcoins, while there are 16.5 ethers.

Beware of Scams, Verify Carefully

Using hacked official verified accounts for "Musk scams" is not new. Well-known tech media Mashable reported on November 5th about fake Musk accounts scamming cryptocurrency, mentioning the above scam website:

Furthermore, during SpaceX rocket launch livestreams, there have been many instances on YouTube offering space mission footage while providing cryptocurrency phishing scam URLs.

Cryptocurrency scams come in various forms, from sophisticated Ponzi schemes and fake ICOs to simple phishing websites. People must carefully verify the sources of their information to ensure it is accurate and authenticated, assessing any potential risks to avoid falling victim to scams.