Apple launched the iPhone 13 through an event titled California Streaming last week. But this event was used by irresponsible people to promote bitcoin fraud.
According to Zscaler's report, the scammer created a livestream video that looked like an Apple event. But this video actually shows an old interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook, not a livestream of the iPhone 13 launch event.
The scammer's YouTube channel is seen using a logo similar to Apple's official YouTube channel. When found, Zscaler reported that the channel had 1.3 million subscribers and that its livestream video had over 16,000 views, making the video look authentic and convincing.
At the end of the video there is a message telling viewers to visit the website www.2021.apple.org. Once clicked, the site has a display that is made to look like the official Apple site and is used to promote a 1000 BTC bitcoin giveaway.
The scammers then ask people who visit the site to send 0.1 to 20 bitcoins via QR code and then get back twice as much. The site also claims they have shared 819 BTC to make this giveaway program look genuine.
Although there are many red flags that indicate this giveaway is a scam, it seems that many people have been tricked and become victims. A bitcoin wallet associated with the site is known to have managed to scoop up cryptocurrency worth USD 69,000 as quoted from AppleInsider, Sunday (26/9/2021).
The scam site is currently down, and is likely to continue to go down after successfully stealing large amounts of bitcoin in a short period of time. Zscaler also reminds bitcoin investors to be careful if they see unofficial and suspicious bitcoin giveaways.
Bitcoin scams using the name of Apple and its important figures are common on YouTube. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak even sued YouTube because his face was used to promote bitcoin scams in a video.
