1 August 2026
Scammers Steal $150K BTC By Impersonating SpaceX YouTube Channel
The scammers on Youtube have hijacked and impersonated SpaceX youtube channel and stolen $150,000 worth of bitcoin.
As per the Bleeping Computer 9th June report, the scammers had hacked a legitimate YouTube account and changed their branding and content to match with Elon Musk’s SpaceX channel.
The scammers on channel live-streamed Musk footage from archived and appeared it as a live event and asked viewers to send Bitcoin. The report states that around 80,000 people have watched this live stream that has brought in 15.31 BTC for the scammers since June 8. One of the bitcoin addresses acquired 29 transactions for 4.08 BTC worth of $39,840 and others received 84 “donations” totaling 11.23 BTC, or almost $110K.
Musk is well aware that his identity is misused to lead the scam. He had tweeted that “the crypto scam level on Twitter is reaching new levels” and users should report such fakes as soon as they see them.
The hacked accounts have been removed, some for violating the terms of service. The policies don't allow videos "intended to stream content that belongs to somebody else and is not corrected following repeated warnings of possible abuse."
The number of cryptocurrency scams has increased since the first surfacing in 2018 when they targeted high-profile Twitter accounts including Musk, Donald Trump, John McAfee, and Bill Gates.
Discussion
0 comments