Charles Hoskinson has issued a warning about a scam on YouTube promoting a fake ADA giveaway
Despite YouTube's censorship of crypto-related content, the video streaming giant has failed to eliminate scams with cryptocurrency giveaways.
On July 12, IOHK's founder and CEO of Cardano warned investors of a YouTube account posing as him to promote a fake ADA gift.
In a Tweet Recently, Hoskinson spoke about a scam on YouTube that he has become aware of. The fake account has used the Hoskinson Cardano Shelley Summit keynote to promote a nonexistent raffle with the Cardano cryptocurrency (ADA).
The now-removed video asked ADA-following investors to send Cardano (ADA) to a certain address promising to get more coins in return. While describing it as "Nasty and criminal", Hoskinson says they will possibly take legal action against those responsible.
It has come to my attention that a scam has been floating around using my conference keynote to promote a giveaway https://t.co/x2VV2niY68 this is a scam. Please report it to YouTube. We will take legal action if we can against those responsible.
– Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) July 12, 2020
Perhaps most annoying of this is the fact that YouTube has been banning channels managed by cryptocurrency-focused educators and influencers, but hasn't fully acted on scams. Unfortunately, many people have already been the victims of these scams over the years.
A Twitter user by the name of Synergi He even noted that he has been reporting ADA scams to YouTube, but so far no action has been taken and the scams continue to appear on the platform.
@IOHK_Charles I've been reporting these for weeks. Instead of going away, they seem to be ramping up. Now that pop up on videos I click on and I go out thinking I clicked the wrong video. Youtube bans people for speaking of bitcoin but allows this!
– Synergi (@Synergi) July 12, 2020
Cryptocurrency scams are on the rise
Similar scams with other cryptocurrencies have become increasingly common on YouTube and other platforms. Scammers have notably used the names of famous people to defraud gullible users of their bitcoin.
For example, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been supplanted in a couple of instances by imposters who claim to double the fortune of users' cryptocurrencies. Other targeted influencers include the Kenyan business magnate. Chris Kirubi and Hollywood actor Daniel Craig. According to a recent Whale Alert report, scammers raised around $ 24 million in bitcoin alone during the first six months of this year.
In addition to Cardano, this issue with cryptocurrency scams is also affecting other cryptocurrency-focused companies like Binance and Ripple. Ripple, in particular, filed a lawsuit against YouTube in April for its response. "Woefully inadequate and incomplete" when it comes to dealing with scammers who scam innocent investors through fake XRP gifts.
So when will YouTube end these cryptocurrency scams that have become a pain for the cryptocurrency community?
Hopefully soon.
