Criminals are using old YouTube accounts to add credibility to advertisements for cryptocurrency trading bots, which hide a smart contract designed to siphon off cryptocurrency, according to cybersecurity company SentinelLABS.
Since 2024, this scam has been "widespread and ongoing," spreading through YouTube videos shared on social media that offer tips and smart contract code for deploying cryptocurrency trading bots, said Alex Delamottea, a senior threat researcher at SentinelLABS, in a report on Tuesday.
After victims deploy the smart contract, the attackers' wallet addresses are added to the contract and disguised as transaction addresses to hide them. Once users fund the contract, the scammers can immediately transfer the funds. The scam requires victims to fund the contract to carry out the fraud.
"The cryptocurrency ecosystem is becoming increasingly complex, and such scams are inevitably successful because victims do not thoroughly analyze how the relevant tools work and fail to carefully review what the inputs and outputs are," Delamottea said.
Victims are asked to deposit at least 0.5 Ethereum (ETH), currently worth $1,829, to pay for gas fees and ensure that the profits are substantial enough.
Delamottea stated that her investigation found "the success rates of these scams vary," with recently identified scammer wallets receiving 7.59 ETH, another with 4.19 ETH, and a third holding 244.9 ETH, totaling over $939,000 in value.
"We observed that the same wallet was used for multiple weaponized smart contracts; however, many addresses were used, so it is unclear how many unique actors are operating behind the scenes," she said.
Delamottea noted that all the YouTube accounts operating the scams are older and have a history of posting cryptocurrency news, investment tips, or other pop culture-related content to boost account rankings and appear credible.
It is unclear whether the criminals created these channels or simply purchased them for the scam, as old YouTube channels can be found for sale through Telegram and search engine results.
"Based on audio and visual characteristics, several videos appear to be AI-generated, allowing actors to easily create multiple scam videos without adopting new identities," Delamottea said.
Negative comments in the videos are deleted, and most comments in the section claim to have made profits through the bot.
"Actors may be managing the YouTube comment section to delete any negative comments, while more savvy users turn to platforms like Reddit for more background information about the bots," Delamottea said.
Delamottea stated that these scams are becoming more common because they are effective for criminals, which is why cryptocurrency users should remain extremely cautious about trading tools promoted through unverified social media or video content.
"To guard against such scams, cryptocurrency traders are advised to avoid deploying code promoted through influencer videos or social media posts, especially if it offers a quick way to make money," she added.
Delamottea emphasized the importance of researching the functionality of tools and verifying how they work before deployment, and avoiding anything that sounds too good to be true, such as promises of quick and easy profits without effort or risk.
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Original article: “SentinelLABS: YouTube Cryptocurrency Trading Bot Scam Steals 256 Ethereum (ETH)”
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