Multiple crypto influencers had their YouTube channels compromised on Sunday by hackers promoting a scam called “Oneworld Cryptocurrency.”
The attack targeted YouTube crypto channels globally, including Ivan on Tech, Boxmining, Aantonop, TheMoonCarl, Bitboy Crypto, MMcrypto, Altcoinbuzzio, Floyd Mayweather, CryptoBanter and CoinmarketCap.
The scam comes at a time the crypto market has taken a more than $2 trillion hit since December, with Bitcoin and Ether trading at $34,839 and $2,395, respectively, at the time of filing this report.
The scammers claimed their creation was a digital currency on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC), a decentralized, open-source blockchain similar to Ethereum that was launched by crypto trading exchange Binance in September 2020.
In a video uploaded to multiple YouTube accounts on Sunday, scammers released the pre-sale price per token and asked subscribers of the crypto influencers to transfer money to a cryptocurrency address.
According to an Ether scan report uploaded on Twitter by Crypto Banter – one of the compromised accounts – the hacker had accumulated a relatively small amount to date, put at more than $1,000.
Aditya Singh, who runs the YouTube channel ‘CryptoIndia’, tweeted an alert after the hack was reported by multiple YouTubers. “Multiple crypto youtube channels have been compromised and are being used to promote a scam coin called One cryptocurrency. Please be careful,” he tweeted.
Multiple Crypto Youtube channels have been compromised and are being used by scammers to promote a scam coin named One CryptoCurrency.
Please be careful.
— Crypto India 🔑 (@CryptooIndia) January 23, 2022
Sweden-based Carl Runefelt, who runs the YouTube channel ‘The MoonCarl’, said he pulled down the video within 30 seconds after it was uploaded and released a video asking followers not to fall for the scam.
‘My Youtube channel got hacked today. Bitcoin can’t be hacked’, tweeted Runefelt, who has more than 1.5 million followers across social media channels.
My YouTube channel was hacked today.#Bitcoin can’t be hacked.
— The Floor (@TheMoonCarl) January 23, 2022
“Over 20 crypto Youtubers I know were impacted by the same hack,” Runefelt told Asia Financial.
“It remains to be seen how this was possible on Youtube, because the platform practises two-factor authentication. This means you need to have access to my gmail account. For such a mass hack to be possible and be done at the same time, we are assuming this might be an insider’s job.”
YouTube has yet to put out a statement on the incident, as more details are awaited on the severity of the mass hack.
- Eetika Kapoor
ALSO READ:
