YouTube Channel Hacked and Rebranded for Crypto Scam Live

A new report shared by Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) highlights an ongoing phishing campaign targeting YouTube creators, which often results in channels being compromised and sold for spreading cryptocurrency scams.

TAG attributed the attacks to a group of hackers recruited in a Russian-language forum, who hacked creators’ channels by offering fake collaboration opportunities. Once hijacked, YouTube channels were either sold to the highest bidder or used to spread cryptocurrency scams:

“A large number of hijacked channels were rebranded for cryptocurrency scam live broadcasts. On the account trading market, hijacked channels ranged from $3 to $4,000 depending on the number of subscribers.”

YouTube accounts have reportedly been hacked using cookie-stealing malware, fake software configured to run on victims' computers without detection. TAG also reported that hackers also changed the YouTube channel’s name, avatar, and content to impersonate a major tech company or cryptocurrency exchange.

According to Google, “Attackers are live-streaming videos promising giveaways of cryptocurrency in exchange for an initial payment.” As a countermeasure, the company has invested in tools to detect and block phishing and social engineering emails, cookie theft hijacking and Crypto Scam Live.

Given the ongoing efforts, Google has managed to reduce the number of Gmail phishing emails by 99.6% since May 2021. The company added: "As detection efforts have increased, we have seen that attackers have moved from Gmail to other email providers (mainly email.cz, seznam.cz, post.cz, and aol.com).

Google has shared the above findings with the FBI for further investigation.

A cryptocurrency price tracking website called CoinMarketCap has reportedly leaked the email addresses of more than 3.1 million (3,117,548) users.

As Cointelegraph reported, Have I Been Pwned, a website dedicated to tracking cyber hackers, discovered that hacked email addresses were being traded and sold on various hacking forums.

CoinMarketCap acknowledged that the leaked data was linked to their user base, but insisted that no evidence of the hack was found on their internal servers:

"Since passwords were not included in the data we saw, we believe it likely came from another platform where users may have reused passwords across multiple sites."

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