How to spot scams like "Elon Musk Twitter Giveaway" scam

What kind of scam is "Elon Musk Twitter Giveaway"?

After examining this website, we concluded that it is a fake crypto giveaway scam page that offers to send cryptocurrency to a specified wallet and get twice as much back. Scammers behind this scam impersonate Elon Musk (use a fake Twitter page) to d deceive users. It is a complete scam that should be ignored.

"Elon Musk Twitter Giveaway" scam in detail

This scam page offers to send from 0.1 BTC to 20 BTC or 0.5 ETH to 200 ETH to the "contribution address" (BTC or ETH wallet) and receive back double the sent amount. It offers users 200% profit. This scam page also claims that users can participate in this giveaway only once, so potential victims would consider sending a higher amount of cryptocurrency.

It is important to mention that there are at least two variants of this giveaway scam website. Both websites share a similar design and the same instructions. A screenshot of another variant can be found below.

Similar scams can also be found on YouTube (videos advertising fake giveaway websites) and other social media platforms. Typically, these scams are supposedly endorsed by real people like Elon Musk, Cathie Wood, Do Kwon, Brad Garlinghouse, etc. In all cases, people who fall for such scams never receive cryptocurrency back.

Threat Summary:

Name	Elon Musk Twitter Giveaway scam website
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Participants will receive double the amount the cryptocurrency they will send
Disguise	Crypto giveaway endorsed by Elon Musk
Scammers' Cryptocurrency Wallets	1MusKAVrUKKVQ92C4b88LCLdfiwfxfDrf (BTC), 0x3AA26e3F44E0b79e7834c00238C2478586c79Ea0 (ETH)
Related Domains	musk-event[.]info, musgivsnow[.]com, freedomgiveaway[.]net, x-musk[.]fun
Detection Names (musk-event[.]info)	Avira (Phishing), CRDF (Malicious), Emsisoft (Phishing), Kaspersky (Phishing), Sophos (Malware), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Detection Names (musgivsnow[.]com)	Emsisoft (Phishing), ESET (Phishing), Netcraft (Malicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Symptoms	Fake error messages, fake system warnings, pop-up errors, hoax computer scan.
Distribution methods	Compromised websites, rogue online pop-up ads, potentially unwanted applications.
Damage	Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft, possible malware infections.
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Examples of similar scams

There are many crypto giveaway scams on the Internet. Here are some examples: "TeslaStrategy Giveaway Scam", "LUNA Giveaway Scam", and "Twitter Crypto Giveaway Scam". These scams are designed to trick people into believing that a cryptocurrency exchange or celebrity is hosting a giveaway.

How did I open a scam website?

Crypto giveaway scams usually are promoted via YouTube, Twitter, and other social media platforms, email, or text messages. Also, they can be promoted via pages that use rogue advertising networks (e.g., illegal movie streaming pages, torrent sites, etc.), notifications delivered by untrustworthy pages, shady ads, and other ways.

How to avoid visiting scam pages?

Do not trust notifications from suspicious websites or advertisements on such pages. Investigate giveaways before sending cryptocurrency or contributing in other ways. Do not trust emails sent from unknown or suspicious addresses (the same applies to text messages sent from unknown numbers).

If your computer is infected with unwanted apps that open untrustworthy websites, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate them.

The appearance of "Elon Musk Twitter Giveaway scam" pop-up scam (GIF):

Text in this scam website:

Official event

ELON MUSK DECIDES TO BUY TWITTER AFTER ALL THE BUSINESSMAN AGREED TO AN INITIAL COST OF 44 BILLION DOLLARS.
Amid these developments, he is giving away all cryptocurrencies from 5,000 BTC to 50,000 ETH.

Participate

Instruction for participate

To make a transaction you can use any wallet or exchange to participate!

Send the desired number of coins to the special address below.

Once we receive your transaction, we will immediately send the requested amount back to you.

You can only take part in our giveaway once. Hurry up!

Rules & Information
About giveaway

Amid these developments, he is giving away all cryptocurrencies from 5,000 BTC to 50,000 ETH.

How to participate ?

To participate you just need to send from (0.1 BTC to 20 BTC) or (0.5 ETH to 200 ETH) to the contribution address and we will immediately send you back (0.2 BTC to 40 BTC) or (1 ETH to 400 ETH) (x2) to the address you sent it from.

Count your prize

In order to calculate your prize, you can use the built-in calculator on our website

You will send BTC Your profit You receive
0.1 X 200% = 0.2

Participate in giveaway
Send your BTC to the address for X2 back
1MusKAVrUKKVQ92C4b88LCLdfiwfxfDrf

Copy address
Waiting for payment

Send your ETH to the address for X2 back
0x3AA26e3F44E0b79e7834c00238C2478586c79Ea0

Copy address
Waiting for payment

Screenshot of another variant of the "Elon Musk Twitter Giveaway" scam website:

Yet another example of Elon Musk-themed crypto giveaway scam website (freedomgiveaway[.]net):

Another example of a scam website (x-musk[.]fun) from "Elon Musk Twitter Giveaway" campaign:

Screenshot of elon-prize[.]fun website promoting Elon Musk Twitter Giveaway scam:

Update December 12, 2022 - Twitter followers of Elon Musk, Tesla, SpaceX, and other related accounts are being targeted by cryptocurrency giveaway scams. New followers are being added to a list on Twitter titled "Deal of the Year". The scam operates as all fake crypto giveaways - luring victims into contributing cryptocurrency to the scammers' cryptowallets with the false promises of an increased return. More information on these developments can be found in an article by Ax Sharma on the Bleeping Computer website.

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Quick menu:

• What is Elon Musk Twitter Giveaway scam website?
• How to identify a pop-up scam?
• How do pop-up scams work?
• How to remove fake pop-ups?
• How to prevent fake pop-ups?
• What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?

How to identify a pop-up scam?

Pop-up windows with various fake messages are a common type of lures cybercriminals use. They collect sensitive personal data, trick Internet users into calling fake tech support numbers, subscribe to useless online services, invest in shady cryptocurrency schemes, etc.

While in the majority of cases these pop-ups don't infect users' devices with malware, they can cause direct monetary loss or could result in identity theft.

Cybercriminals strive to create their rogue pop-up windows to look trustworthy, however, scams typically have the following characteristics:

• Spelling mistakes and non-professional images - Closely inspect the information displayed in a pop-up. Spelling mistakes and unprofessional images could be a sign of a scam.
• Sense of urgency - Countdown timer with a couple of minutes on it, asking you to enter your personal information or subscribe to some online service.
• Statements that you won something - If you haven't participated in a lottery, online competition, etc., and you see a pop-up window stating that you won.
• Computer or mobile device scan - A pop-up window that scans your device and informs of detected issues - is undoubtedly a scam; webpages cannot perform such actions.
• Exclusivity - Pop-up windows stating that only you are given secret access to a financial scheme that can quickly make you rich.

Example of a pop-up scam:

How do pop-up scams work?

Cybercriminals and deceptive marketers usually use various advertising networks, search engine poisoning techniques, and shady websites to generate traffic to their pop-ups. Users land on their online lures after clicking on fake download buttons, using a torrent website, or simply clicking on an Internet search engine result.

Based on users' location and device information, they are presented with a scam pop-up. Lures presented in such pop-ups range from get-rich-quick schemes to fake virus scans.

How to remove fake pop-ups?

In most cases, pop-up scams do not infect users' devices with malware. If you encountered a scam pop-up, simply closing it should be enough. In some cases scam, pop-ups may be hard to close; in such cases - close your Internet browser and restart it.

In extremely rare cases, you might need to reset your Internet browser. For this, use our instructions explaining how to reset Internet browser settings.

How to prevent fake pop-ups?

To prevent seeing pop-up scams, you should visit only reputable websites. Torrent, Crack, free online movie streaming, YouTube video download, and other websites of similar reputation commonly redirect Internet users to pop-up scams.

To minimize the risk of encountering pop-up scams, you should keep your Internet browsers up-to-date and use reputable anti-malware application. For this purpose, we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.

What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?

This depends on the type of scam that you fell for. Most commonly, pop-up scams try to trick users into sending money, giving away personal information, or giving access to one's device.

• If you sent money to scammers: You should contact your financial institution and explain that you were scammed. If informed promptly, there's a chance to get your money back.
• If you gave away your personal information: You should change your passwords and enable two-factor authentication in all online services that you use. Visit Federal Trade Commission to report identity theft and get personalized recovery steps.
• If you let scammers connect to your device: You should scan your computer with reputable anti-malware (we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows) - cyber criminals could have planted trojans, keyloggers, and other malware, don't use your computer until removing possible threats.
• Help other Internet users: report Internet scams to Federal Trade Commission.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is a giveaway scam?

It is a scam in which a scammer attempts to trick people into believing that some cryptocurrency exchange or celebrity is hosting a giveaway.

What is the purpose of a giveaway scam?

Scammers aim to trick people into sending them cryptocurrency. Usually, they promise to send extra (e.g., twice the sent amount) cryptocurrency back.

I have sent cryptocurrency to the address presented in such a scam. Can I get my money back?

Unfortunately, it is not possible to retrieve the sent cryptocurrency. These transactions are irreversible.

How these scam websites are promoted?

Most scammers use untrustworthy websites, social media platforms, email, text messages, and similar methods to promote their scams.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from giveaway scam websites?

Combo Cleaner is designed to scan every website and detect untrustworthy ones (including giveaway scam pages). Thus, this application will warn you about a scam page and restrict access to it.

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