Several hours after the bogus giveaway posts were published, Twitter took them down.
Scammers often get access to the social media accounts of well-known persons.
On Thursday morning, the official Shark Tank Twitter account of Kevin O’Leary, nicknamed Mr. Wonderful, began advertising cryptocurrency giveaways in the form of bitcoin and ethereum. The account claimed that O’Leary has chosen to donate 5,000 bitcoin and 15,000 ether. Since he has gained so much money from cryptocurrencies in recent years. In addition, the tweet contains a link that enables readers to participate in the fraudulent cryptocurrency offer.
According to the O’Leary Twitter account, it has not been hacked and the freebies are legitimate. A fabrication that Mr. Wonderful said last night on CNBC. That he would give away some cryptocurrency for real was also included.
Twitter Took Them Down
To participate in O’Leary’s free bitcoin and ether giveaway. Scammers asked to click the link in the first tweet. Which will lead user to a website that claims to be the official site. U.S. residents are included was mentioned as well. Both a Bitcoin (BTC) giveaway and an Ether (ETH) giveaway link are offered for additional opportunities to win free cryptocurrency.
Several hours after the bogus giveaway posts were published, Twitter took them down. Social media sites like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram are common places for cryptocurrency giveaway frauds to circulate.
Scammers often get access to the social media accounts of well-known persons, politicians, celebrities, and brands in order to spread the word about their bogus freebies. These hoaxes often include references to Elon Musk and his businesses Tesla and SpaceX.
The fraudster apparently utilized the same website for the O’Leary giveaway as they used for the fraudulent Tesla and Elon Musk contests.