Crypto Scam Alert: $25M Fake Giveaway Preys on Elon Musk's X Users

On Friday, a $25 million cryptocurrency scam surfaced on Elon Musk‘s X, formerly Twitter, posing a serious threat to users.

What Happened: An account masquerading as Grayscale Investment targeted users with a promise of $25 million worth of a new token called GBTC – Grayscale Investment Bitcoin Trust. 

The impostor stated that $25 million worth of novel taken named GBTC, which shares its ticker symbol with the real $13 billion trust, would be distributed to individuals who visited a website referenced in the past. 

Grayscale Investment, a legitimate entity, disavowed any connection to @Grayscale_FND, reinforcing the scam’s illegitimacy, reported CoinDesk.  

See Also: Elon Musk’s X Scores Crypto Wallet Licenses Across US — What It Means For Dogecoin, Shiba Inu

At the time of writing, the account was removed from the platform. 

How The Scammers Worked: This fake account, which used the handle @Grayscale_FND, was a subscriber to Twitter Blue, now X Blue. 

This means that the account displayed the coveted blue checkmark, formerly a symbol of account verification but now accessible to anyone paying Musk’s platform $8 a month.

The account also had Grayscale’s official logo, making it more challenging for users unaware of Twitter’s new checkmark colors to distinguish it from the real one.

The real Grayscale account on X has a gold checkmark, a designated symbol reserved for companies and organizations that are officially recognized. 

Why It’s Important: It was previously reported that Musk’s decision to eliminate the legacy blue verification checkmark has inadvertently amplified the risk of scams and impersonations. 

Even before Musk acquired Twitter, the platform was a hotbed for crypto scams. 

In June last year, an account impersonating SpaceX with a “blue tick” badge responded to Musk’s tweet and led unassuming users to a crypto scam link. 

Meanwhile, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s legal triumph over the SEC has made it a top story in the market. 

Read Next: GenZ Investor Who Invested In Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin And Shiba Inu Reflects On $80K Mistake: ‘Only Invest Money You Have’

Photo by Primakov on Shutterstock