A live stream of an old interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook got onto the YouTube front page by appearing as an official company cryptocurrency event.
The Verge reported that cybercriminals used the buzz around Apple’s latest product launches to trick victims into thinking they were watching Tim Cook talking about the current state of Web3.
The title of the stream, “Apple Event Live. Ceo of Apple Tim Cook: Apple & Metaverse in 2022 [sic]”, as well as a suspicious URL in the video description, may have raised suspicions among discerning viewers. However, many still believed it, 10,000 of them specifically.
The Verge also reported on a separate concurrent stream running the exact same playbook, claiming to feature Cook and Elon Musk in conversation about the metaverse. The feed was a republished version of an online discussion between Musk and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
These scams are typically portrayed as ‘get-rich-quick’ or giveaway schemes and often attempt to piggyback on the reputation of an unsuspecting public figure to create an illusion of authenticity.
They can also be perpetrated across the full range of media platforms, appearing in fraudulent ‘sponsored’ ads, as well as other visual content.
To avoid falling for scams like these, web users are advised to think critically about the links they click on while browsing. Consumers should consider investing in a firewall, beyond the basic one provided by their operating system, while business owners should invest in strong endpoint protection to protect their entire network of devices.