Using Elon Musk's Name, Bitcoin Scammers Make Away With $580,000 In A Week

As Bitcoin (BTC) trades near record highs in recent weeks, more people are falling prey to cryptocurrency scams running in the name of Elon Musk on Twitter Inc.’s TWTR social media platform, according to security researcher MalwareHunterTeam.

What Happened: The Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO is one of the most prominent Twitter users and cryptocurrency giveaway scams are present in replies to a majority of his tweets.

According to MalwareHunterTeam, the number of people falling prey to such scams has however surged over the past week, Bleeping Computer reported.

Scammers hack verified Twitter accounts — change the name to “Elon Musk” — and respond to the real Elon Musk’s tweets, asking people to send cryptocurrencies in exchange to receiving a larger amount later.

The scammers have managed to make away with about $587,000 worth of Bitcoin, in the scam over the past week, as per the data compiled by Bleeping Computer and MetaMask.

See Also: Will The Real Elon Musk Please Stand Up: Another Twitter Bitcoin Scam

Why It Matters: Twitter has long been plagued with the problem of cryptocurrency giveaway scams.

Data compiled by cybersecurity firm Adaptiv in June 2020 showed that Bitcoin scammers had profited $2 million using Musk's name over a period of two months.

“The crypto scam level on Twitter is reaching new levels,” Musk said in February last year. “This is not cool.”

In July, a massive Twitter hack resulted in Musk's — besides former President Barack Obama, Microsoft Corporation MSFT co-founder Bill Gates, and other famed personalities’ — accounts being used to promote a Bitcoin scam.

Photo by JD Lasica on Flickr