- Twitch discovers Elon Musk impersonator account scam.
- Multiple streams asked viewers to invest in fake bitcoin giveaway.
- Twitch responds with mass ban.
Twitch bans Elon Musk cryptocurrency scam
The video streaming service Twitch has recently seen a rise in cryptocurrency fraud. The site’s ‘Just Chatting’ section, devoted to videos outside of its staple gaming and e-sports content, was recently taken over by a swarm of channels named after billionaire business magnate Elon Musk – followed by a selection of likely random numbers.
Users reported that the streams were blatant scams featuring unrelated footage of Musk with an overlay advertising the fraudulent investment opportunity. Despite the cynicism of most users, the streams still attracted thousands of views, likely made up of mostly bots to add to the legitimacy of the scheme.
When following the link, viewers were met with a choice of preferred cryptocurrency, followed by instructions on how to invest. The site offered to return an immediate increase of times five on any investment.
Musk himself has stated over Twitter that he has little to no cryptocurrency assets: ‘I literally own zero cryptocurrency, apart from .25 BTC that a friend sent me many years ago.’ This is not the first time Musk has seen swarms of duplicates attempt to scam users out of potentially thousands of dollars. The Atlantic reports that Twitter has faced a similar attack, with several users claiming to be fooled by the faux Musk.
In the time since this invasion, Twitch and Twitter have taken to mass banning these accounts with little leniency. However, gaps remain. On Twitch, several of these channels remain dormant, some featuring links to the scam website. The site has received criticism previously for a similar scam revolving around the game CS;GO. This issue has been ongoing for around 12 months.
As Twitch goes deeper into the cryptocurrency rabbit hole, allowing viewers to tip creators and pay for subscriptions in cryptocurrencies, users are left wondering how much responsibility the platform will take for consumer financial safety in the future.
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