Beware of scams in the YouTube comment section!
Youtube has become the second most searched website after www.google.com with more than 2.6 billion active [1] users worldwide. This video-sharing platform, acquired by Google in 2006, allows users to watch, upload, like, share, and comment on videos.
This rise of Youtube channels and subscribers is attracting more scammers than ever. Many YouTube creators and users are complaining about the huge amount of scams in the comment section of a video.
According to Statista[2], during the fourth quarter of 2021, more than 75% of removed video comments on Google’s YouTube platform were deleted due to spam, misleading, or fraudulent content.
Channel impersonation
Youtube scammers intend to copy other YouTubers’ profiles and images to impersonate them and defraud their subscribers in the comment section.
One big Youtuber addressed this issue in one of his videos: Youtube needs to fix this! [3]
Marques Brownlee mentioned that many of his subscribers were victims of impersonation scams using his channel name.
Scammers use imitation to create youtube profiles with the same image and username as those of the real youtube channel. Then they start contacting the channel’s subscribers by claiming that the subscriber won a giveaway prize. The message asks the subscriber to contact the scammer directly via other apps like Telegram or Gmail. Scammers ask for money in advance from their victims in order to send them the giveaway. Once the money is transferred or withdrawn, the scammers disappear with the money leaving the victim with a financial and emotional loss.
In the case of Marques, he received hundreds of emails from his subscribers that fell for this scam and are now checking on the money they think was transferred to him.
Another popular channel, “Mr.Beast” is getting similar impersonation scams. This Youtuber offers big giveaways on his real channel.
In figure 1, scammers are seen taking advantage of that and tricking the channel’s subscribers in comments by claiming they won the giveaway. Later, the scammers steal subscribers’ money via Telegram or Gmail.
Red flags of impersonation scams on Youtube:
- The channel is using the same name, description, logo, and background images as the real channel being impersonated. The username is often a slightly modified version of the real channel’s username.
- The channel is uploading another channel’s videos
- The profile is posting comments as the impersonated YouTuber to trick their subscribers to leave the Youtube platform and communicate via other channels like Telegram.
Most Youtube scams are related to the following topics: crypto scams, adult sites, giveaway scams,…
Comments scam
Here are other examples of comments spam:
In figure 2, scammers refer in their comments to a fake crypto investment guru “Paulson Dmitriev” and how he helped them achieve “top-rated” results with crypto trading and investment. Some of the scammer profiles are using real people’s images and names. Via these comments, scammers are encouraging other users to invest with that same guru, which is a scam.
Each comment is followed by another one with a similar message, which seems likely to be generated by bots rather than regular people.
In figure 3, scammers are claiming to make a lot of money in cryptocurrency, stock, and other financial investments with the help of a specific website “MitnickSystems” and encouraging others to go to that specific website. At present, that website has been taken down.
In this example, the scammer invites people to invest in the stock market by communicating with him/her directly via a direct email address mentioned in the scammer’s username.
How Youtube is working to solve this problem
Youtube is using a spam filter powered by AI to detect spam comments. The filter needs to be improved over time to catch new scam scenarios in the comment section, which we highlighted in this article.
Red flags you need to pay attention to in Youtube comments
-Genuine YouTubers will never contact you via Telegram or another channel to ask for money.
-Check for the blue mark next to a Youtube profile comment to see if it is real or an impersonation scam.
-Use of “Pay Per Click” referral links
-Promising to provide complete video material for free or before it’s published on official sites: movies, television programs, concerts
-Referring to malicious software or phishing sites that help in getting money. For example, comments like ‘I got so much money when I invested in [phishing site].com’
-Comment referring to other channels that have nothing to do with the video under which the comment is written. For example: “Hey, check out my channel/video here!”.
Report a Youtube scam
You can report a comment you think is a scam by clicking on ‘report’ next to the comment.
If you believe you or another creator’s channel is being impersonated, or if you have been a victim of a Youtube comment scam, you can report it to Youtube from this link.
About Eydle
Impersonation attacks on social media are growing rapidly. Therefore, businesses and influencers need to be more protective of their social presence and their followers online.
Eydle’s AI-powered system detects impersonation profiles on social media like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube to protect your business and your followers from such cyberattacks.
To understand how the Eydle platform can identify and take down impersonation accounts on social media, contact us at [email protected] or visit www.eydle.com.
Resources
[1] https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1144088/youtube-users-in-the-world
