Technologies

Cryptocurrency scams are all over social media. Don’t get duped

That tweet, live event or ad you see on social media could be fake.

On Sept. 15, Tim Dodd clicked on what he thought was a livestream on YouTube of SpaceX’s historic Inspiration4 launch from the Kennedy Space Center. What he saw next took him by surprise.

Dodd, a well-known space fan who created the YouTube channel Everyday Astronaut, landed a rare tour of SpaceX’s rocket facilities in Texas with CEO Elon Musk this summer. And it was just that footage Dodd saw. Someone had copied Dodd’s video to create fake livestreams of the launch, which was also part of a fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Scammers, Dodd says, were trying to trick people into donating Bitcoin on another site.

He said he’s reported at least two dozen cryptocurrency scam videos to YouTube, but they continue to pop up. «It just makes me feel so hopeless,» Dodd said.

Creating a fake live event video is just one way crooks are attempting to dupe crypto enthusiasts into giving away their assets. From fake giveaways to bogus investment sites, scammers use YouTube, Twitter and other social media sites to hook potential victims. Last week, Twitter flagged accounts that appeared to be tied to a Squid Game crypto coin and that bilked buyers out of more than $2 million by exploiting enthusiasm for the hit Netflix show. Scammers are even turning to dating apps to push these schemes.

Unlike a stolen credit number — an inconvenient but rarely troublesome issue — stolen crypto is basically gone. Many cryptocurrencies are decentralized, managed only by code running on a blockchain ledger.

Here are some ways to avoid getting duped on social networks:

Pay attention to the details

Recognizing a fake tweet, ad or video on social media can be tricky because scammers often steal images to give their ploys credibility. Sometimes they go as far as hacking verified accounts, creating the illusion of legitimacy by insinuating a well-known figure is involved. In 2020, hackers breached a handful of high-profile Twitter accounts to promote a cryptocurrency scam that promised to double the amount of Bitcoin sent to a specified address. Some of the accounts belonged to Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, celebrity Kim Kardashian and Joe Biden, who was running for US president at the time.

Look closely at the name of a website, the description of a YouTube video and the handle of a Twitter account. Little details, like a small misspelling, could be a red flag.

In March, the BBC reported a man in Germany was duped by a Bitcoin giveaway scam tweeted by a fake Musk account. The tweet asked people to send anything from 0.1 Bitcoin to 20 Bitcoin and Musk’s team would send back double the amount. The scammer created the illusion the account belonged to Musk by using it to reply to a real tweet from the Tesla boss. The scammer copied Musk’s profile picture and used a verified Twitter account. But if you look closely, the Twitter handle of the fake Musk account is @JoshyMcB not @elonmusk.

A Twitter spokesperson said using scam tactics on Twitter to obtain money or private financial information violates its rules. «We’re constantly adapting to bad actors’ evolving methods and have made improvements in combating cryptocurrency scams on the platform,» the spokesperson said. The company updated its verification policy, but Twitter has also mistakenly verified fake accounts before.

Satnam Narang, a staff research engineer at the security firm Tenable, estimates scammers stole more than $10 million using fake Twitter and YouTube accounts to promote bogus cryptocurrency giveaways before Musk’s appearance on Saturday Night Live in May. The scammers impersonated the Twitter accounts of SNL and celebrities, such as Miley Cyrus. Scammers have also used YouTube ads to promote a fake SpaceX coin.

«Even though cryptocurrency has been around for over a decade now, it’s just started to take hold,» Narang said. «A lot of people have a fear of missing out.»

Facebook is also filled with fake accounts. On Nov. 1, a verified page with more than 153,000 followers impersonating Musk falsely claimed the tech executive was doubling payments sent to a Bitcoin address for the next 30 minutes. The page transparency section, though, indicates the user changed their name multiple times and is located in Egypt.

The Facebook page is no longer available. Facebook didn’t respond to questions about the page.

During Google’s Pixel 6 event on Oct. 19, cryptocurrency scammers created a fake live video using footage from an earlier Google event. The slick scam uses the Google logo to convincingly sell itself as the Google Live YouTube channel. At one point, the imitation video had more than 41,000 views but it was taken down shortly after the event began. The video’s description, though, held telltale clues that it was bogus, moving between the first and third persons. A Google search showed parts of the text were plagiarized from a news article.

During the fake livestream, scammers directed people to another website that falsely said Google was giving away 1,000 Bitcoin and 20,000 Ether to celebrate the launch of its new smartphones. The scammers said people who sent Bitcoin or Ether would get more cryptocurrency back. The website, though, isn’t from a .google address, a sign that Google wasn’t behind a giveaway.

«Content intended to scam the YouTube community — such as cryptocurrency scams — or impersonate another YouTube channel is not allowed on YouTube,» said YouTube spokeswoman Ivy Choi in a statement. The company said from April to June it removed more than 3.7 million channels and 884,000 videos for spam, deceptive practices and scams.

Do your research

Scammers could try to lure you into investing through a bogus site, bringing up the topic while you’re chatting on a dating app or on social media. They’ll tell you about a new cryptocurrency opportunity they’ve jumped on, but it’s all a ruse to get you to invest through a fake website.

«These websites may even make it look like your investment is growing,» the FTC warned. «But people report that, when they try to withdraw supposed profits, they are told to send even more crypto — and end up getting nothing back,» the Federal Trade Commission warned.

From October 2020 to March 2021, nearly 7,000 people reported losses of more than $80 million to cryptocurrency investment scams, according to the FTC. The agency also said that over the past six months people have reported sending more than $2 million in cryptocurrency to Musk impersonators.

The agency says you should be wary if scammers guarantee you’ll make money or make big claims without details. You can also search for the name of the company or cryptocurrency with words such as «review,» «scam» or «complaint,» the agency noted.

If you do suspect someone is pushing a cryptocurrency scam, you can report it to the FTC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the US Securities and Exchange Commission or the cryptocurrency exchange company you use.

Protect your cryptocurrency

Guardrails used to protect conventional online finance can also be applied to cryptocurrency to minimize potential losses if you do fall for a scam.

These include using a strong password, turning on two-factor authentication or using a separate email for your Bitcoin account. You can also use a type of hardware wallet, also known as a cold wallet, to store your private keys in a physical device like a USB stick.

You can store your cryptocurrency in a handful of separate wallets so you can keep funds you’ve set aside for investment apart from funds you expect to spend.

«It’s all the same things that we talk about when it comes to cyber hygiene that we apply to traditional finance,» Narang said. «It’s just this is like the Wild Wild West.»

Technologies

Google races to put Gemini at the center of Android before Apple’s AI reboot

Google is using its latest Android rollout to position Gemini as the AI layer across phones, Chrome, laptops and cars.

Google is using its latest Android rollout to make Gemini less of a chatbot and more of an operating layer across the phone, browser, car and laptop, just weeks before Apple is expected to show its own Gemini-powered Apple Intelligence reboot at WWDC.
Ahead of its Google I/O developer conference next week, the company previewed a number of Android updates, including AI-powered app automation, a smarter version of Chrome on Android, new tools for creators, a redesigned Android Auto experience, and a sweeping set of new security features.
Alphabet is counting on Gemini to help Google compete directly with OpenAI and Anthropic in the market for artificial intelligence models and services, while also serving as the AI backbone across its expansive portfolio of products, including Android. Meanwhile, Gemini is powering part of Apple’s new AI strategy, giving Google a role in the iPhone maker’s reset even as it races to prove its own version of personal AI on the phone is further along.
Sameer Samat, who oversees Google’s Android ecosystem, told CNBC that Google is rebuilding parts of Android around Gemini Intelligence to help users complete everyday tasks more easily.
“We’re transitioning from an operating system to an intelligence system,” he said.
As part of Tuesday’s announcements. Google said Gemini Intelligence will be able to move across apps, understand what’s on the screen and complete tasks that would normally require a user to jump between multiple services. That means Android is moving beyond the traditional assistant model, where users ask a question and get an answer, and acting more like an agent.
For instance, Google says Gemini can pull relevant information from Gmail, build shopping carts and book reservations. Samat gave the example of asking Gemini to look at the guest list for a barbecue, build a menu, add ingredients to an Instacart list and return for approval before checkout.
A big concern surrounding agentic AI involves software taking action on a user’s behalf without permissions. Samat said Gemini will come back to the user before completing a transaction, adding, “the human is always in the loop.”
Four months after announcing its Gemini deal with Google, Apple is under pressure to show a more capable version of Apple Intelligence, which has been a relative laggard on the market. Apple has long framed privacy, hardware integration and control of the user experience as its advantages.
Google’s Android push is designed to show it can bring AI deeper into the device experience while still giving users control over what Gemini can see, where it can act and when it needs confirmation.
The app automation features will roll out in waves, starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer, before expanding across more Android devices, including watches, cars, glasses and laptops later this year.
The company is also redesigning Android Auto around Gemini, turning the car into another major surface for its assistant. Android Auto is in more than 250 million cars, and Google says the new release includes its biggest maps update in a decade and Gemini-powered help with tasks like ordering dinner while driving.
Alphabet’s AI strategy has been embraced by Wall Street, which has pushed the company’s stock price up more than 140% in the past year, compared to Apple’s roughly 40% gain. Investors now want to see how Gemini can become more central to the products people use every day.
WATCH: Alphabet briefly tops Nvidia after report of $200 billion Anthropic cloud deal

Technologies

Waymo recalls 3,800 robotaxis after glitch allowed some vehicles to ‘drive into standing water’

Waymo issued a voluntary recall of about 3,800 of its robotaxis to fix software issues that could allow them to drive into flooded roadways.

Waymo is recalling about 3,800 robotaxis in the U.S. to fix software issues that could allow them to “drive onto a flooded roadway,” according to a letter on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website.
The voluntary recall is for Waymo vehicles that use the company’s fifth and sixth generation automated driving systems (or ADS), the U.S. auto safety regulator said in the letter posted Tuesday.
Waymo autonomous vehicles in Austin, Texas, were seen on camera driving onto a flooded street and stalling, requiring other drivers to navigate around them. It’s the latest example of a safety-related issue for the Alphabet-owned AV unit that’s rapidly bolstering its fleet of vehicles and entering new U.S. markets.
Waymo has drawn criticism for its vehicles failing to yield to school buses in Austin, and for the performance of its vehicles during widespread power outages in San Francisco in December, when robotaxis halted in traffic, causing gridlock.
The company said in a statement on Tuesday that it’s “identified an area of improvement regarding untraversable flooded lanes specific to higher-speed roadways,” and opted to file a “voluntary software recall” with the NHTSA.
“Waymo provides over half a million trips every week in some of the most challenging driving environments across the U.S., and safety is our primary priority,” the company said.
Waymo added that it’s working on “additional software safeguards” and has put “mitigations” in place, limiting where its robotaxis operate during extreme weather, so that they avoid “areas where flash flooding might occur” in periods of intense rain.
WATCH: Waymo launches new autonomous system in Chinese-made vehicle

Technologies

Qualcomm tumbles 13% as semiconductor stocks retreat from historic AI-fueled surge

Semiconductor equities reversed sharply after a broad AI-driven advance, with Qualcomm suffering its worst day since 2020 amid inflation concerns and rising oil prices.

Semiconductor stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, reversing course after an extensive rally that had expanded the artificial intelligence investment theme well past Nvidia and driven the industry to unprecedented levels.

Qualcomm plunged 13% and was on track for its steepest single-day decline since 2020. Intel shed 8%, while On Semiconductor and Skyworks Solutions each lost more than 6%. The iShares Semiconductor ETF, which benchmarks the overall sector, fell 5%.

The sell-off came after a key gauge of consumer prices came in above forecasts, and as conflict in Iran pushed crude oil higher—prompting investors to shift away from riskier assets.

The preceding advance had widened the AI opportunity set beyond longtime industry leader Nvidia, which for much of the past several years had largely carried the market to new peaks on its own.

Explosive appetite for central processing units, along with the graphics processing units that power large language models, has sent chipmakers to all-time highs.

Market participants are wagering that the shift from AI model training to autonomous agents will lift demand for additional AI hardware. Among the beneficiaries are memory chip producers, which are raising prices as supply remains tight.

Micron Technology slid 6%, and Sandisk cratered 8%. Sandisk’s stock has surged more than six times over since January.