The number of websites promoting cryptocurrency giveaway scams to lure gullible victims has increased by more than 300% in the first half of this year, targeting mostly English and Spanish speakers using celebrity deepfakes. Security researchers at cybersecurity company Group-IB have identified more than 2,000 domains registered in 2022 specifically for this purpose. A report published today notes that the number of fake giveaways involving cryptocurrency have increased five times compared to the same period last year. Each of these sites has an average reach of about 15,000 viewers. If this data is accurate, scammers have a targeting pool of about 30 million people. The use of top-level domains (TLDs) that are considered more trustworthy (“.COM”, “.NET”), and “.ORG”) have also contributed to this success. Group-IB says that scammers abuse several video platforms to promote the fake giveaways in live streams with deepfakes of Elon Musk, Garlinghouse, Michael J. Saylor, and Cathie Wood. YouTube is first on the list, followed by Twitch.
Read more : Fake cryptocurrency giveaway sites have tripled this year.
