YouTube is one of the longest-tenured content sharing platforms still dominating video hosting today. Since its launch in 2005, YouTube has seen its fair share of viral moments \u2014 both in funny videos and company controversies. One of these corporate black eyes is scammers on the platform. As you will come to learn, this has hurt YouTube in both their reputation and their wallet. Keep reading to learn more about YouTube\u2019s struggles with scammers and ways you can keep yourself safe.<\/p>\n
YouTube provides a surplus of ways to scam unsuspecting users and an environment to reach these targets easily. Many people use YouTube as a public library of helpful tips and guides. \u201cHow to (insert task here)\u201d is a common phrase you\u2019ve probably entered before in a YouTube search query.<\/p>\n
Scammers use this to their advantage. They may post a fraudulent how-to video leading viewers to download malware or visit a phishing website. This is often done by dropping a malicious link in the video description or on screen during the video. They may also target the comments of a legitimate video to use its credibility to push their scheme.<\/p>\n
To illustrate this, we will use Timmy. Timmy is a young viewer looking for a way to earn virtual currency (VC) in a popular video game he likes to play. His favorite YouTuber streams the game and posts highlights to his channel. In the comments, he sees the YouTuber posted a link to earn free VC for liking videos. Eagerly, Timmy clicks the link and imagines the fictional fortune he\u2019s about to make.<\/p>\n
As you may have guessed, our friend Timmy is about to enter a common scam on YouTube \u2014 a fake product promotion. This is a popular tactic used by cybercriminals on the platform, but it\u2019s far from the only scam targeting users. The following are some of the scams our experts see most frequently on YouTube.<\/p>\n
As the name implies, this scam involves the promotion of a product that doesn\u2019t exist. Scammers may post videos advertising a product that are misleading or completely fabricated altogether. They may also link to fraudulent listings under legitimate videos advertising real products or discussing related topics.<\/p>\n
This is what occurred to our friend, Timmy. While watching a video discussing his favorite game, He thought his Idol posted a link to earn VC. What he didn\u2019t realize was that the uppercase \u201cI\u201d in his username was actually a lowercase \u201cl\u201d. This was a phishing account that did not actually belong to the YouTuber who posted the video.<\/p>\n
Instead of posting a sham product promotion, some scammers may pretend to give away a fake prize. This can consist of a YouTuber running a giveaway with no intention of selecting a real winner and awarding a prize in an attempt to farm engagement. It can also include posing as a popular creator on the platform and using their clout to capitalize on a fake giveaway.<\/p>\n
The goal is usually to collect personal information or even directly ask for money. Scammers will typically ask their targets to divulge shipping data and other credentials. They may even ask the supposed \u201cwinner\u201d to pay a small fee to initiate the shipping process of an item they will never receive.<\/p>\n
Instead of pushing a fake product or giveaway, scammers may try to get you to click a malware-ridden link. These are typically listed in video descriptions or comments on videos promoting some sort of \u201clife hack\u201d or shortcut.<\/p>\n
These programs can be used to impact device performance, survey and gather intel on victims, as well as harvest online credentials. They are often employed to jumpstart or in coordination with larger fraudulent attacks like extortion or identity theft.<\/p>\n
YouTube has earned a reputation as one of the internet\u2019s prime locations for housing conspiracy theory content<\/a>. Unconfirmed and ungrounded information is often discussed \u2014 and even passed off as fact \u2014 by creators on the platform. This misinformation cycle has only been perpetuated by the advent of AI-generation software.<\/p>\n Users can easily create and share deepfake content cheaply and with quick turnaround times. This allows scammers to spread misinformation, acquire fraudulent product promotions, tarnish the reputations of public figures, and much more.<\/p>\n Sometimes, scammers aren\u2019t using YouTube to actively push a scheme. Instead, they utilize the platform\u2019s video-sharing capabilities to spread training material and recruit new scammers. This is an especially common tactic by sextortion groups such as the Yahoo Boys in Nigeria<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThose we\u2019ve seen on YouTube provide a step-by-step tutorial in how to commit these blackmail offences from start to finish, including creating fake online accounts, obtaining a texting number, tips on how to target victims and how to realize the profit of the crime,\u201d said Senior Manager for the National Crime Agency Adam Priestley<\/p>\n These guides provide cheap insight on everything from creating convincing phishing accounts to determining which targets will be most susceptible. They often tout previous success in scamming, including their number of successful \u201cclients\u201d and accumulated wealth.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is advice to criminals to target secondary schools, and instructions on how to threaten victims and the language to use. There are examples of the tutorials available for sale online, offered as a \u2018full blackmailing guide\u2019 at a cost of around 10,000 Nigeria Naira<\/a> (roughly $7).\u201d<\/p>\n So far, we\u2019ve followed the journey of our friend, Timmy. While Timmy is not a real person, his fictional experience is very similar to those of actual YouTube users. By revisiting their experiences, we can get a better idea of how scammers operate on the platform. This allows us to create a better response and keep ourselves safe.<\/p>\n In 2022, YouTuber Scuba Jake<\/a> had his channel of over 13 million subscribers hacked and used to pedal a crypto scam. The criminals acquired roughly $21,000 in Bitcoin by convincing users to send funds to fraudulent wallets.<\/p>\n After compromising the channel, the hackers changed the name and profile to impersonate the crypto and business intelligence firm MicroStrategy. They then hosted livestreams that consisted of old, legitimate videos from CEO Michael Saylor. These livestreams directed users to send cryptocurrency in order to receive a bonus from Saylor, a common tactic in crypto scams.<\/p>\n Stephen Carr<\/a> found himself the victim of a similar scam on YouTube. The Ontario resident lost roughly $500,000 \u2014 his entire life savings \u2014 to the scheme. He was lured in by a scammer\u2019s YouTube video promising lucrative returns for investing in their project.<\/p>\n The portfolio was convincing, and Carr was even able to make an initial withdrawal of $1,000 with no issue. However, his fund soon reached a value of $1.3 million, which sparked some concern. He tried to make a withdrawal but was told he\u2019d need to pay a $150,000 liquidation fee \u2014 confirming his suspicions.<\/p>\n YouTube has also faced negative ramifications as a result of these crypto scams. Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak<\/a> raised a civil lawsuit against the video sharing giant for the overuse of his likeness to promote crypto scams. Other public figures like Elon Musk have also publicly called out the platform for similar issues.<\/p>\n In some cases, misinformation isn\u2019t necessarily posted on the platform. Instead, its spread in regard to ownership rights over copyrighted content. This was the case for two scammers who made off with over $23 million in false copyright claims.<\/p>\n The scammers, Webster Batista Fernandez and Jose Teran<\/a>, were able to fraudulently claim the ownership rights to a library of over 50,000 songs. They did this by exploiting YouTube\u2019s copyright claim system, which is mechanically automated.<\/p>\n Their four-year scheme came to an end in 2021 when they were indicted on federal charges. The men plead guilty and received 46 and 70-month sentences for their crimes. They also had to forfeit possessions to satisfy a $25 million payout<\/a> to the victims.<\/p>\n Another scammer, Christopher Brady<\/a>, also exploited YouTube\u2019s copyright system \u2014 but in a different way. Instead of issuing fraudulent claims to steal money, he used it as a threat to extort users on the platform.<\/p>\n Brady issued two fraudulent copyright claims to numerous content creators before messaging them and threatening a third. On YouTube, three copyright strikes are grounds for termination of a channel. Knowing this, Brady would leverage the threat of a third strike to get his victims to pay up.<\/p>\n YouTube eventually became privy to the situation and filed a lawsuit against Brady under the DMCA\u2019s prevision against fraudulent takedown notices. The suit was settled out of court, and Brady paid a penalty of $25,000 and issued a public apology<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jason Blentlinger was at his desk at work when he believed he was issuing a payment to secure a gift he\u2019d won. He was a longtime subscriber of the channel Grimm Life Collective, and he\u2019d just received a notification that he\u2019d won a MacBook Pro for his support.<\/p>\n All Blentlinger had to do was cover a $131 shipping fee and the prize was his. Simple enough \u2014 or so he thought. He went to a nearby store to buy a gift card to pay the fee, but the demands for money were just getting started.<\/p>\n The \u201cYouTuber\u201d, who was really a phishing scammer, explained that a cash prize was included with the MacBook, causing the package to be seized by customs. They explained the Blentinger would need a large sum to get the FBI and Interpol \u201coff their backs\u201d.<\/p>\n In total, Blentlinger bought and sent gift cards reaching a grand total of $7,200. After the store employee raised concern of a potential scam, Blentlinger reported the matter to the police, who confirmed the scam suspicions.<\/p>\n These types of “prize” scams aren’t limited to YouTube; they often migrate to other platforms. Scammers frequently use stolen or leaked content from creators on sites like OnlyFans<\/a> to create “exclusive” fake giveaways or bait-and-switch schemes designed to harvest credit card data from unsuspecting fans.<\/p>\n YouTube has policies<\/a> in place that prohibit scam-related content, such as spam, misleading information, or use of third-party content. Violations can be reported by users, and YouTube utilizes both human moderators and machine learning models to detect potential scams.<\/p>\n If a channel\u2019s content is determined to be in violation of the community guidelines, it can potentially lose monetization. In some cases, the channel may even be deleted entirely. YouTube channel termination operates under a three-strike policy, and scam content may warrant a strike.<\/p>\n If the user is only issued a warning, they can complete an optional policy training to have it removed. However, if they violate the same policy, the warning will not be removed \u2014 and a strike may be assigned. YouTube also reserves the right to refuse the optional policy training to repeat offenders.<\/p>\n Now that you are aware of the potential scams on YouTube, let’s circle back to our friend Timmy and learn what you can do if you encounter one. But first, let’s take a look at what Timmy could\u2019ve done to avoid the situation he found himself in.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, Timmy\u2019s case exceeded the point of prevention. However, he quickly realized he needed to take action to resolve the serious threat he now faced. He quickly alerted his parents, and they helped him respond. Here\u2019s what they did.<\/p>\n<\/span>Scammer Training Material<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/span>Real-World Cases of YouTube Scams<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>Popular YouTube Channel Hacked to Promote Crypto Scam<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/span>False Royalty Claims Backfire on Scammers<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/span>Fraudulent Giveaway Costs Victim $7,200<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/span>What YouTube is Doing to Combat Scammers<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>How to Avoid Falling for a YouTube Scam<\/span><\/h2>\n
\n
\n