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YouTube Restores Crypto Channel After Shutting Down; Intentional Or Mistake?

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A crypto-focused channel called Bankless which boasts 150k subscribers found itself ‘terminated’ from the platform without any prior notice. In the tweet, Bankless felt that it was being targeted solely for being a crypto channel and expressed displeasure over the sudden ban after dedicating 10,000+ hours of content.

The channel’s other collaborative Web3 crypto accounts- Gabriel Haines.eth and the Optimism Collective, have also been shut down.

Within a few hours of the ban, YouTube confirmed via Twitter that it has restored the channel and was looking into the other affected channels before apologizing for the ordeal.

Still, many Twitter aficionados were unsatisfied with the response. While a few appreciated Youtube’s quick reaction, others criticized the platform demanding an explanation as to why the channels were removed in the first place.

One user called for more transparency with regards to “incorrect bans and such unwarranted censorship”.

Another posted, “This should not have happened TeamYouTube. It’s going to be very difficult for any creator to trust y’all after this. A real shame.”

This isn’t the first time that the social media site has faced public ire over inexplicable bans. On many occasions, it has shut down channels in the past only to be reinstated later without providing any justification.

Crypto channels bearing the brunt of Youtube’s unwarranted clampdown

In 2019, YouTube began its spree of deleting cryptocurrency-related content from some of the biggest influencers in the industry.

One of them was YouTuber Chris Dunn having over 210,000 subscribers was one day notified that the platform had removed all of his videos that mentioned cryptocurrencies.

Things got further heated when in April 2020, Jason Appleton [AKA prominent influencer Crypto Crow] took to Twitter to say his channel had been deleted.

After receiving massive backlash, YouTube quickly restored his account. As usual, the platform did not offer any confirmation concerning what led to his account’s termination. 

Prior to that, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also voiced his outrage against YouTube. But for a different reason.

He had a fake account that was brought to his notice posing as him. This led him to tweet, “Enough is Enough.” Garlinghouse then called out to the social media giants individually urging them to act against scammers and fake accounts.

YouTube plans to onboard a Director to lead its Web3 vision

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The world’s most popular video-sharing platform YouTube is keen on transforming its Web3 vision to reality as it kickstarted its hiring process scouting for a new product management director with experience in the crypto industry to steer the company’s Web3 strategy.

Posting an advertisement on the leading job site LinkedIn the social media giant is looking for an executive who will “define, communicate, and execute the vision, strategy, and roadmap for Web3 at YouTube. As stated in the YouTube ad post, the platform is seeking a candidate with 15 years of experience in product management or design with a focus on “consumer Internet and crypto.” 

The advert also includes other preferred qualifications, such as an “understanding of Web3 technologies like cryptocurrencies, blockchain, consensus mechanisms, and NFTs.” Apart from that, the preferred candidate should be experienced in owning and trading crypto assets.

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki on January 25 2022 had expressed interest in investing areas that are heavily hyped of late. Wojcicki stated that the popular video site has been getting inspiration from “everything happening in Web3,” a term that’s been fiercely debated on Twitter and has come to represent the next evolution of the internet, involving blockchain technologies, crypto, and decentralized platforms. 

Also, YouTube’s Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan published a blog post on February 10, this year detailing the firm’s upcoming plans for new products and features in 2022, citing an interest in Web3, Blockchain.

YouTube and Co. exploiting the incredible potential of Web3

In the last six months, Web3 has garnered the attention of some of the world’s leading social media giants like Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and now YouTube. These platforms have announced plans to allow support to its social media users to showcase their own NFTs as profile pictures and help creators monetize their content using NFTs. 

Even YouTube’s parent company Google is looking to stay ahead in the game. Google’s AR headset, reportedly codenamed project Iris, is expected to launch in 2024. In June, the search giant announced plans to bring changes to its advertising policies to suit crypto exchanges and wallet providers, though it still put limits on topics like initial coin offerings. 

Ripple CEO Affirms Settlement With YouTube Over Scammy Giveaway Videos

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The emergence of technology has paved the way for a number of cybercrimes. Ripple, unfortunately, happened to be a victim of this. The crypto platform, however, did not turn a blind eye towards these crimes. Ripple decided to hit YouTube with a lawsuit alleging negligence over scammy impersonation videos. While Ripple has been dealing with the SEC lawsuit, YouTube has reportedly decided to settle with the crypto platform.

In a recent tweet, the CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse announced that the YouTube vs Ripple lawsuit was concluded with a settlement.

Ripple And YouTube To Donate The Settlement Money To A Cybercrime Non-Profit

Ripple chose to put an end to scammy XRP giveaway videos on YouTube with a lawsuit last April. The crypto platform and its CEO asserted that YouTube was making profits out of these scammers over keyword purchases. YouTube, however, hit back and opposed this. This lawsuit sought a solution after both parties decided to settle for an undisclosed amount. These proceeds would reportedly be given to a cybercrime non-profit platform.

The tweet read,

Furthermore, YouTube has joined hands with the crypto platform to wage a war against the fraudsters behind these giveaway videos. He added,

“Social platforms are starting to acknowledge their role in allowing crypto scams to persist and recognize the need to be part of the solution. Some like @xrpforensics are helping detect/track stolen funds, but platforms need to lead the charge or it’s still just whack-a-mole.”

The surge in the value of cryptocurrencies enabled a large number of perpetrators to prey on the industry. Just a few months ago, Twitter accounts of prominent personalities across the globe were hacked. The hackers demanded only one thing, ‘crypto’. These fraudsters are not only showing crypto in a bad light but also directing the governments of several countries to scrutinize the industry.

Garlinghouse shed light on the same and suggested that “accountability and action” were extremely important in the industry. While governments are assessing the prospects of the crypto industry, these crimes could be a major setback to the crypto-verse, he added.

Famous Indian Youtuber Ajey Nagar Becomes the Latest Victim of Fake YouTube Bitcoin Giveaway Scam

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Cryptocurrency giveaway scams that impersonate famous celebrities have been making the rounds for many years now. The latest victim of cybercriminals is a well-known Indian YouTuber, Ajey Nagar, where his gaming channel has been compromised to lure victims using a fake Bitcoin giveaway scam. The YouTuber is well known for streaming live video games with other YouTubers as well as influential personalities on the site. According to reports, Ajey’s second YouTube channel, Carrislive, was targeted explicitly by cyber criminals for their fraudulent purposes.

The hack occurred in the wee hours on Saturday, July 25, where the hackers asked for donations in the form of Bitcoins to help out Asam and Bishar. It was later proved to be a front to defraud the many unsuspecting users of their cryptocurrency on the popular video streaming site. 

Ajar’s response to the fake YouTube Bitcoin giveaway scam

On July 25, Ajar, through his official Twitter handle, confirmed reports of the hack to his YouTube channel subscribers. He further asked for assistance to resolve the issue where the cybercriminals posted two promotional videos with each one of them containing different Bitcoin addresses attached to them. In one of the said videos, the fraudsters posted pictures of SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, apparently handing out Bitcoins. The scammers intended to promote the videos, to lure unsuspecting victims into sending their BTC, with the promise of doubling the amount. 

Nevertheless, Ajar has confirmed that he has regained control of his account and that operations are back to normal. In addition, he claimed that he did not know the culprits involved in the fake Bitcoin scam and why they target him. However, he thanked YouTube for their quick response to the issue at hand.

 

Cryptocurrency scams on YouTube on the rise

Of late Bitcoin, scams have been on the rise on the popular video streaming platform. This is not the first reported case of cyberjacking involving influential personalities. Public figures such as Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak have all fallen victims to impersonation involving fake Bitcoin giveaways. Meanwhile, YouTube’s legal team has insisted that the site is well protected from the fraudsters in the event of scams done online through video content and descriptions.

Youtube Refutes Ripple Inc Claims of Perpetrating Cryptocurrency Scams

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Youtube video sharing platform was under pressure from a lawsuit filed by Ripple in April 2020 blaming it for supporting crypto scams. Youtube responded to the April lawsuit citing the site failed to stop XRP scammers and impersonators from doing so.

According to today ‘s report, Law 360, the legal team representing Youtube referred to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act during a dismissal bid; claimed that the publisher was not liable for any information provided on the platform by a third party. In that case, Garlinghouse accused the video-sharing platform of benefiting crypto scammers from Paid Advertisements.YouTube said that it is not Youtube ‘s fault for cryptocurrency scammers using its platform

The lawyers argued that it was completely unwise to accuse the video publisher of content that it had not created. In addition, Youtube’s verification of the scam channels did not in any way change the fact that the channels were the product of third parties.

Since the video-sharing platform did not solicit, encourage or participate in third party video scams, Ripple had no reason to back the accusation.

Youtube Scams Include Identity Theft, Impersonation and Phishing

A Forbes post on Youtube scams indicated that much of the scamming on the platform involved phishing the credit card, promising traffic spikes, identity theft and impersonation. Ripple ‘s lawsuit provided Ripple Executive Brad Garlinghouse had been impersonated by at least 305 youtube channels.

The lawsuit argued how the fraudsters took over entirely unrelated but verified channels, modified the branding, content and layout to make it look more like a legitimate crypto-currency giveaway.

Cryptocurrency scammers on Youtube not only impersonated the CEO of Ripple but also a variety of key figures in the fintech industry, according to the lawsuit’s filings. With that they could scam hundreds of thousands of subscribers. Nevertheless, the legal team of Youtube argued that the right to publicity law protected the names, voices or images of individuals from being used for any commercial gain; without the owners’ prior permission.

Conclusion

Recently, a twitter hack staged the famous “ double your money”;  through twitter profiles of influential leaders such as Barack Obama, Elon Musk and Bill Gates. Social media platforms and blockchain projects are at the onset of a cyber criminal bubble, and most of them are taking initiative to protect users from fraud and identity theft. 

Fraudulent PlayStation 5 Reveal Raises $13,000 in Fake Bitcoin Giveaway

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A fraudulent PlayStation 5 revealing event on YouTube ran a fake Bitcoin giveaway, stealing over $13,000 in Bitcoin before it was brought down. A fake “PlayStation Live” YouTube channel hosted the fake live-stream and promised viewers in Bitcoin up to 5,000, if they first sent their Bitcoins.

Fake Bitcoin scams have been common in social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook , and YouTube for a long time. It is surprising that these classic scams are still working today. Just recently, TWJ reported about scammers who have adopted the same strategy to imitate Elon Musk’s SpaceX to steal bitcoin from unsuspecting victims.

“To participate you just need to send 0.1 BTC to 20 BTC to the contribution address and we will immediately send you back 0.2 BTC to 40 BTC to the address you sent it from,” claimed the fraudulent PlayStation launch.

Fraudulent PlayStation 5 reveal promised to double victim’s funds

The fake ‘PlayStation 5 Live’ YouTube channel used a pre-recording of the eagerly awaited launch of PlayStation 5 that was 10 hours old. In addition, the fraudulent live-stream had gained over 100,000 viewers in the two hours it was up. Besides, it was among the top six most searched videos in the search results for “p5 Reveal Trailers” on YouTube, while the hosting channel had more than 200,000 subscribers.

Based on the number of subscribers the channel had, it is possible the scammers hijacked a legitimate YouTube account at the last minute through hacking or a phishing attack. Additionally, it is likely the scammers had been amassing an audience for a long time to peddle their ill motives. The YouTube channel is still operational; however, it has no videos after the fake live-stream was taken down.

Scammers used personalized Bitcoin address

The fraudsters had one ploy in their war chest; they personalized the receiving Bitcoin address to start with 1Sony. “Bitcoin addresses are known to involve random alphanumeric digits, unlike those used by the fraudsters.

Customizing your BTC address is not simple since you have to create blockchain addresses until you get the one you want. Alternatively, you can also purchase one from someone who has already done a job for you.

Bitcoin [BTC]: Latest YouTube Scam Uses BTC Ads to Loot Users

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Scams and frauds are not new entities to the cryptocurrency market and individuals. And companies who are part of the industry always make sure that such vile acts are avoided. In the latest twist of events, a fake company called Nexxzy has started approaching people with the offer of paying for a review of their individual streaming software.

The scam came to light when developers understood that the entry software captured the user’s private login details while at the same time enabling them to control the channel. Once a channel is taken over, the scammers fill it with advertisements related to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

The fraud has already claimed victims after some users reported a ‘data synchronization error’ message that they received from Google regarding their accounts. Tecnoage, a victim stated that his channel with 17,000 subscribers had been hacked and all he could see were ads. He wrote on YouTube’s help section:

“I believe that the hacker owned a possible game stream recording software called ‘Nexxzy’ because it was after I downloaded this program to test and see if it was feasible to publish or not that the problem started.”

Members of online communities searched far and wide to spot the perpetrator’s modus operandi and that led to the discovery of a couple of other programs with a similar function. They were namely: Mygalaxypc, Vclockbox, Kryptmix, and Hypercleaner. The use of Bitcoin advertisements has unnerved a lot of the victims but proponents of the digital asset space claimed that crypto had nothing to do with it.

Large swathes of people have recounted the ways in which they were tricked with one user talking about a fake sponsor called “Systemforce”. They worded their emails “super professionally, and even made a fake website. If anyone downloaded the program then everything on their PC gets tracked.

Legendary John McAfee joins Tron-based BeatzCoin as an adviser

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Never mind whether positively or negatively, the cryptocurrency big whale as well as the US presidential expectant, John McAfee will always be in the news.

It has happened again. But this time around, like most in the recent past, the most interesting as well as the controversial figure has hit the crypto world with news that he’s taking a position as an advisor for BeatzCoin and the VibraVid platform.

Welcome Aboard Master of Many Trades

For crypto enthusiasts, John McAfee is not a new name, and for the rest, the fact that he was once a presidential aspirant (maybe will be again) makes him a familiar figure for the world too. And of course, he being the founder of McAfee antivirus is yet another reason for his popularity.

The great news today is that McAfee has joined BeatzCoin and VibraVid platform’s advisory team. According to BeatzCoin, McAfee will be assisting the team as they push to achieve their objectives as well as in helping them gain a stronger influence in the music alongside the blockchain industry.

The godfather of antivirus software has for a while been in the limelight of the crypto movement throwing his foot in advertising a plethora of blockchain ventures as well as initial coin offerings (ICOs). The crypto crusader has always continued to preach the gospel and support blockchain technology as well as the crypto assets.

The “Love” for BeatzCoin (BTZC)

If you thought the McAfee is making headlines for the first time with VibraVid platform, you’re wrong.

Early during the month when the platform gave an update about the release of their 3rd stage in development, McAfee was fast to give his thumbs up. In his tweet at that time, he declared his love for VibraVid, a decentralized platform powered by Tron, which is looking to change the way individuals interact with digital content.

For many, VibraVid has been foreseen as the potential YouTube killer, and now that they have added the “mighty” John McAfee as one of the advisors, the future looks even brighter.

Besides, McAfee has made it clear more multiple times that his next (2020) US presidential campaign will entirely be about cryptos. Imagine a president who happens to be an advisor of BeatzCoin team? Whether that remains only in dreams or bound to happen, one thing is for sure, VibraVid platform may be on its way up by making every right decision in their bid to “kill” YouTube after all.

Image courtesy of Flickr.

Disclaimer: The presented information is subjected to market condition and may include the very own opinion of the author. Please do your ‘very own’ market research before making any investment in cryptocurrencies. Neither the writer nor the publication (TronWeekly.com) holds any responsibility for your financial loss.

John McAfee expresses fondness towards Tron-based decentralized content sharing platform

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Getting some praise is something that is welcome by merely everyone, but when it comes from someone widely-trusted, it becomes even more than just being praised, ask Tron. John McAfee, a well-recognized identity in the crypto space and fugitive US presidential candidate, has expressed some love for the upcoming Tron-based decentralized content sharing platform, VibraVid.

Tron has slowly but surely made some significant steps over the past as it looks to establish itself as the best blockchain platform. Tron CEO has been vocal about the progress it’s making and has claimed that the future is even brighter saying that the upcoming platforms, as well as tokens based on its protocol, are significant.

Subsequently, Tron is being listed on various exchanges while the number of DApps users on its platform continues to grow and the recent hard fork update will only take the network’s security as well as performance to the next level. Therefore, there’s no doubt that every move that Tron has made is the right one thus far and hopes to bring more folks into the blockchain space.

Nonetheless, the praise from McAfee is a morale boost for Tron given that he’s a well-established identity in the crypto industry. In his tweet, McAfee showed love for Tron-based VibraVid which is expected to provide artists with direct compensation based on their work.

All You Should Know About VibraVid

VibraVid is a decentralized content platform which is viewed as direct competition to YouTube and the likes. It aims to change the relationship between the consumer and the content creator. The most significant factor of change will be monetization as VibraVid promises direct compensation to the creators.

Either BeatzCoin or BTZC would be the cryptocurrency of use on the new platform whereby the creators will have all the power to upload, store, rent, market as well as sell their content to consumers. VibraVid aims at making its BTZC token the fuel of the new platform that creators, as well as consumers, exchange digital content such as videos and songs.

In McAfee’s words,

“Supporting underground musicians, and helps any artist take control if their own work. Very freeing.”

Tron on a roll

Unlike other coins that saw the light early, Tron has been around not long enough; still, one thing is clear that it has created an impact in the decentralized sector already. It serves as an ecosystem for the creation of decentralized applications as well as tokenization.

The effort the developers are making is excellent, and currently, the network is competing on the front foot with coins like Ethereum to become the biggest launch pad for a variety of DApps as well as Token creation.

Besides, Tron is experiencing an expanding usage as each day passes with TRONbet decentralized app currently being the number one app in all Dapp platforms amounting to over $36 million transactions per week. With new updates and features getting deployed including the hard fork update, Tron’s decentralized web will only be gaining some more momentum.

Image courtesy of Pixabay.

Disclaimer: The presented information is subjected to market condition and may include the very own opinion of the author. Please do your ‘very own’ market research before making any investment in cryptocurrencies. Neither the writer nor the publication (TronWeekly.com) holds any responsibility for your financial loss.