Cryptocurrency fraudsters on TikTok spread fake bitcoin giveaways on behalf of Elon Musk

Hundreds of videos about free cryptocurrency giveaways appear on TikTok, featuring Tesla and SpaceX, as well as their CEO Elon Musk. In these videos, the CEO of X allegedly gives interviews to Fox News or other well-known news media, advertising the distribution of digital assets.

BleepingComputer specialists tested one of these airdrops and found that almost all schemes follow the same pattern: fraudsters impersonate any well-known platform for investing in virtual coins, using a similar name for the fraudulent resource. In some videos, the attackers suggest that users simply register an account on a fake platform, give instructions on how to log in, and then ask them to enter a special promotional code provided in the TikTok video to receive free bitcoins.

After entering the code, the fake website makes it look like the user’s account is actually credited with cryptocurrency. However, when the user tries to withdraw the gifted bitcoins, he is required to activate his account for 0.005 BTC (about $ 132).

If the user deposits the amount for the so-called account activation, the money goes to the fraudsters, and the deceived person never sees the promised bitcoins. The situation is complicated by the fact that the attackers request information for the KYC («Know Your Customer») procedure. The collected data can be used to hack user accounts on other platforms.

This year, in May, the Texas Securities and Exchange Commission already warned about a fraudulent scheme using Elon Musk’s name to promote the TruthGPT Coin crypto asset.

Earlier, we told you that the EU fined TikTok a record 368 million euros for violating user data protection.