Crypto Scammers Exploit: Elon Musk Speaks on Cryptocurrency

By Oliver Devane 

Update: In the past 24 hours (from time of publication)  McAfee has identified 15 more scam sites bringing the total to 26. The combined value of the wallets shared on these sites is over $1,300,000 which is an increase of roughly $1,000,000 since this blog was last published. This highlights the scale of this current scam campaign. The table within this blog has been updated to include the new sites and crypto-wallets.

McAfee has identified several Youtube channels which were live-streaming a modified version of a live stream called ‘The B Word’ where Elon Musk, Cathie Wood, and Jack Dorsey discuss various aspects of cryptocurrency.  

The modified live streams make the original video smaller and put a frame around it advertising malicious sites that it claims will double the amount of cryptocurrency you send them. As the topic of the video is on cryptocurrency it adds some legitimacy to the websites being advertised.  

The original video is shown below on the left and a modified one which includes a reference to a scam site is shown on the right.  

We identified several different streams occurring at a similar same time. The images of some are shown below: 

The YouTube streams advertised several sites which shared a similar theme. They claim to send cryptocurrency worth double the value which they’ve received. For example, if you send 1BTC you will receive 2BTC in return. One of the site‘s frequently asked questions (FAQ) is shown below: 

Here are some more examples of the scam sites we discovered: 

The sites attempt to trick the visitors into thinking that others are sending cryptocurrency to it by showing a table with recent transactions. This is fake and is generated by JavaScript which creates random crypto wallets and amounts and then adds these to the table. 

The wallets associated with the malicious sites have received a large number of transactions with a combined value of $280,000 as of 5 PM UTC on the 5th of May 2022 

Scam Site 
Crypto Type 
Wallet 
Value as on 5PM UTC 5th May 2022 

22ark-invest[.]org 
ETH 
0x820a78D8e0518fcE090A9D16297924dB7941FD4f 
$25,726.46 

22ark-invest[.]org 
BTC 
1Q3r1TzwCwQbd1dZzVM9mdFKPALFNmt2WE 
$29,863.78 

2xEther[.]com 
ETH 
0x5081d1eC9a1624711061C75dB9438f207823E694 
$2,748.50 

2x-musk[.]net 
ETH 
0x18E860308309f2Ab23b5ab861087cBd0b65d250A 
$10,409.13 

2x-musk[.]net 
BTC 
17XfgcHCfpyYMFdtAWYX2QcksA77GnbHN9 
$4,779.47 

arkinvest22[.]net 
ETH 
0x2605dF183743587594A3DBC5D99F12BB4F19ac74 
$11,810.57 

arkinvest22[.]net 
BTC 
1GLRZZHK2fRrywVUEF83UkqafNV3GnBLha 
$5,976.80 

doublecrypto22[.]com 
ETH 
0x12357A8e2e6B36dd6D98A2aed874D39c960eC174 
$0.00 

doublecrypto22[.]com 
BTC 
1NKajgogVrRYQjJEQY2BcvZmGn4bXyEqdY 
$0.00 

elonnew[.]com 
ETH 
0xAC9275b867DAb0650432429c73509A9d156922Dd 
$0.00 

elonnew[.]com 
BTC 
1DU2H3dWXbUA9mKWuZjbqqHuGfed7JyqXu 
$0.00 

elontoday[.]org 
ETH 
0xBD73d147970BcbccdDe3Dd9340827b679e70d9d4 
$18,442.96 

elontoday[.]org 
BTC 
bc1qas66cgckep3lrkdrav7gy8xvn7cg4fh4d7gmw5 
$0.00 

Teslabtc22[.]com 
ETH 
0x9B857C44C500eAf7fAfE9ed1af31523d84CB5bB0 
$27,386.69 

Teslabtc22[.]com 
BTC 
18wJeJiu4MxDT2Ts8XJS665vsstiSv6CNK 
$17,609.62 

tesla-eth[.]org 
ETH 
0x436F1f89c00f546bFEf42F8C8d964f1206140c64 
$5,841.84 

tesla-eth[.]org 
BTC 
1CHRtrHVB74y8Za39X16qxPGZQ12JHG6TW 
$132.22 

teslaswell[.]com 
ETH 
0x7007Fa3e7dB99686D337C87982a07Baf165a3C1D 
$9.43 

teslaswell[.]com 
BTC 
bc1qdjma5kjqlf7l6fcug097s9mgukelmtdf6nm20v 
$0.00 

twittergive[.]net 
ETH 
0xB8e257C18BbEC93A596438171e7E1E77d18671E5 
$25,918.90 

twittergive[.]net 
BTC 
1EX3dG9GUNVxoz6yiPqqoYMQw6SwQUpa4T 
$99,123.42 

Scammers have been using social media sites such as Twitter and Youtube to attempt to trick users into parting ways with their cryptocurrency for the past few years. McAfee urges its customers to be vigilant and if something sounds too good to be true then it is most likely not legitimate.  

Our customers are protected against the malicious sites detailed in this blog as they are blocked with McAfee Web Advisor  

Type 
Value 
Product 
Blocked 

URL – Crypto Scam 
twittergive[.]net 
McAfee WebAdvisor 
YES 

URL – Crypto Scam 
tesla-eth[.]org 
McAfee WebAdvisor 
YES 

URL – Crypto Scam 
22ark-invest[.]org 
McAfee WebAdvisor 
YES 

URL – Crypto Scam 
2xEther[.]com 
McAfee WebAdvisor 
YES 

URL – Crypto Scam 
Teslabtc22[.]com 
McAfee WebAdvisor 
YES 

URL – Crypto Scam 
elontoday[.]org 
McAfee WebAdvisor 
YES 

URL – Crypto Scam 
elonnew[.]com 
McAfee WebAdvisor 
YES 

URL – Crypto Scam 
teslaswell[.]com 
McAfee WebAdvisor 
YES 

URL – Crypto Scam 
2x-musk[.]net 
McAfee WebAdvisor 
YES 

URL – Crypto Scam 
doublecrypto22[.]com 
McAfee WebAdvisor 
YES 

URL – Crypto Scam 
arkinvest22[.]net 
McAfee WebAdvisor 
YES 

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