There’s been a surge of Elon Musk-themed cryptocurrency scams on TikTok, BleepingComputer reports. The scammers inform the victims that they can claim their reward after spending a small amount of bitcoin (about $132) to activate their account.
“BleepingComputer tested one of the giveaways to see how it works and found that almost all utilize the same template, which pretends to be a crypto investment platform,” BleepingComputer says. “Most of the videos use website domains that look slightly similar, such as bitoxies[.]com, moonexio[.]com, altgetxio[.]com, cratopex[.]com.
To take part in the giveaway, users are prompted to register an account and enter a promo code shared in the TikTok video. Once they enter the code, the site will pretend to deposit Bitcoin into the user's wallet.”
Users should assume that any offer purporting to give away free money is a scam.
“It is essential to recognize that almost every crypto giveaway site is a scam, especially those claiming to be from Elon Musk, Tesla, SpaceX, Ark Invest, Gemini, and high-profile exchanges and celebrities that promise massive returns. If you see emails, videos, tweets, or other messages on social media promoting these giveaways, remember that any cryptocurrency you send will just be stolen with nothing in return.”
BleepingComputer cites a Better Business Bureau warning issued last week outlining the following advice for avoiding TikTok scams:
- “Use good judgment. Get-rich-quick schemes and investments guaranteed to give you a huge return are nearly always scams. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
- “Do your research. Before you contact someone through TikTok or another social media platform, look up their name, phone number, and company name (if they have one) online. You’ll likely find complaints online about it if they have conned others.
- “Don’t give into scare tactics. If an ‘investor’ contacts you, they may try to convince you the investment will only work if you act right now. Or, if you’ve already sent them funds, they may threaten you with legal action if you don’t pay their fees. In any case, don’t give in to scare tactics. Recognize them as the hallmarks of a scam.
- “Understand how digital wallet services work. Treat any money you send through a digital wallet service like cash. Once you send the money, there will be little you can do to get it back if you were scammed. Using these apps only with people you know and trust is best.”
It’s not just individuals who can fall for these scams. Someone who bites on the Elon-Musk phishbait can easily enmesh their organization in unwanted problems. New-school security awareness training can give your employees a healthy sense of suspicion so they can avoid falling for scams and other social engineering attacks.
BleepingComputer has the story.
