Hackers and scammers within the crypto industry now focus on social media accounts on X, YouTube, and others for their activities.
In a recent development, bad actors hacked the YouTube Channel of the Supreme Court of India. The hackers used the platform to shill XRP with a fake investment Livestream.
Hackers Breach Supreme Court Of India’s YouTube Channel To Shill XRP
On September 20, hackers took over the Supreme Court of India’s YouTube channel, which boasts over 217,000 followers.
According to a report from an Indian news outlet, The Time Of India, Hargurvarinder Singh Jaggi, Registrar (Technology), issued a notice regarding the hack.
The statement read, “This is to inform all concerned that the YouTube channel of the Supreme Court of India has been taken down.”
Following the compromise, the hackers changed the platform into a Ripple-themed one to sell XRP-related promotions. They also changed the account’s name and deleted its previous videos to conceal any trace of its original owner.
The scammers then played a fake live stream on the rebranded account, a video featuring Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple Labs. The video highlighted unrealistic investment profits to attract potential victims.
Some phishing links were associated with the fake XRP live streams. When clicked, they urged users to connect their crypto wallets. Usually, hackers will gain access to their victims’ funds if the users approve the request, enabling them to drain their funds.
However, YouTube identified the trend in the compromised account and deleted it.
It posted, “This channel was removed because it violated our Community Guidelines.”
In April, the YouTube channel of a top gaming project, DidYouKnowGaming, recorded a similar scam trend. The hackers also took over the channel, rebranded it, and deleted its previous videos.
However, the YouTube team stopped the hackers and recovered the channel and all the deleted content.
so sorry you’re having to deal with this! first, we’ll need to get some quick info from you & then we’ll connect you w/ a specialist team who helps restore account access. follow us & we’ll be able to DM you the info you need!
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) April 28, 2023
Also, in July, hackers compromised the YouTube account Ben&Ben, which had more than three million followers. They used the channel to advertise a fake XRP investment scheme.
The Ben&Ben band disclosed the incident on its Facebook page, stating its team’s effort in a possible recovery. Later, the band restored the channel with the help of the YouTube team but recovered only parts of its older content.
In addition to YouTube channels, hackers have also breached several X accounts. Scammers breached the Decentraland X account and posted a phishing link that redirected victims to a malicious website.
#PeckShieldAlert @decentraland’s X has been compromised. The phishing site is launch-decentraland[.]org.
Do *NOT* click the link until further official announcements pic.twitter.com/GsvEG15P4A— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) September 19, 2024
Also, the hackers posted fake MANA airdrops and urged users to connect their wallets to get the tokens. Further, the scammers turned off comments on the post, claiming that the VR platform did so to avoid getting malicious links from outsiders.
With increasing attempts to compromise these accounts, crypto users must be careful of fake investment opportunities that promise huge returns quickly.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not constitute financial advice. We encourage readers to conduct their own research and determine their own risk tolerance before making any financial decisions. Cryptocurrency is a highly volatile, high-risk asset class.
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