{"id":15965,"date":"2022-12-30T04:05:16","date_gmt":"2022-12-30T04:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/kevin-olearys-twitter-account-hacked-to-promote-bitcoin-ethereum-giveaway-scam-featured-bitcoin-news\/"},"modified":"2022-12-30T04:05:16","modified_gmt":"2022-12-30T04:05:16","slug":"kevin-olearys-twitter-account-hacked-to-promote-bitcoin-ethereum-giveaway-scam-featured-bitcoin-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/kevin-olearys-twitter-account-hacked-to-promote-bitcoin-ethereum-giveaway-scam-featured-bitcoin-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevin O’Leary’s Twitter Account Hacked to Promote Bitcoin, Ethereum Giveaway Scam \u2013 Featured Bitcoin News"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b>
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Shark Tank star Kevin O\u2019Leary\u2019s Twitter account was hacked Thursday and used to promote a bitcoin and ethereum giveaway scam. The scammers claimed that Mr. Wonderful is giving away 5,000 bitcoin and 15,000 ether, and anyone can participate.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kevin O\u2019Leary\u2019s \u2018Fake\u2019 Bitcoin and Ether Giveaways<\/h2>\n

The official Twitter account for Shark Tank star Kevin O\u2019Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, started promoting bitcoin and ethereum giveaways Thursday morning. The account tweeted claiming that O\u2019Leary has made a lot of money from crypto over the last few years and he has decided to give away 5,000 bitcoin and 15,000 ether. The tweet also provides a link for anyone to join the cryptocurrency giveaway scam event.<\/p>\n

\"Kevin<\/a><\/p>\n

The O\u2019Leary Twitter account further claimed that it is not hacked and the giveaways are not a scam. It also falsely claimed that Mr. Wonderful said on CNBC last night that he will away some cryptocurrencies for real.<\/p>\n

\"Kevin<\/a><\/p>\n

The link provided in the first tweet takes investors to a website claiming to be the official site for O\u2019Leary\u2019s bitcoin and ether giveaway. \u201cEveryone can participate, including those in the United States,\u201d the website details. Two more links are provided: one is to participate in the BTC<\/a> giveaway while the other is to participate in the ETH<\/a> giveaway.<\/p>\n

The fake giveaway posts were removed by Twitter a few hours after they were posted.<\/p>\n

Crypto Giveaway Scams Widespread on Social Media<\/h2>\n

Cryptocurrency giveaway scams are widespread across various social media platforms, including Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram.<\/p>\n

Scammers often hack the accounts of famous people, politicians, celebrities, and companies and use them to promote their fake giveaways. Elon Musk<\/a> and his companies Tesla and Spacex<\/a> are often featured in these scams.<\/p>\n

In the O\u2019Leary giveaway, the scammer evidently reused the same website they created for fake Tesla and Elon Musk giveaways. Besides comments on O\u2019Leary\u2019s giveaway site thanking Musk for sending them some BTC<\/a>, both the bitcoin and ether giveaway pages for the Shark Tank star have the Tesla logo on top and were hosted on a website with the name Tesla in the URL.<\/p>\n

In July 2020, a large number of Twitter accounts were hacked to promote a bitcoin giveaway<\/a>, including those belonging to Apple, Google, Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Floyd Mayweather, Jeff Bezos, Joe Biden, Kanye West, Mike Bloomberg, Mr. Beast, Uber, and Warren Buffett. More recently, Pakistani politician Imran Khan<\/a>\u2018s Instagram account was used to promote a giveaway scam featuring Musk, and the British Army<\/a>\u2018s official Youtube and Twitter accounts were compromised in July to promote a bitcoin giveaway.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Leary was recently slammed by the crypto community for defending<\/a> former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. He was paid about $15 million<\/a> to become the crypto exchange\u2019s spokesperson. Following the FTX meltdown, O\u2019Leary said Bankman-Fried is a brilliant crypto trader<\/a> and he will back him again if he has another venture.<\/p>\n

What do you think about cryptocurrency giveaway scams? Let us know in the comments section below.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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\nKevin Helms <\/h6>\n

\nA student of Austrian Economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open-source systems, network effects and the intersection between economics and cryptography.

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Image Credits<\/b>: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons<\/em><\/p>\n

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Disclaimer<\/strong>: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com<\/a> does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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