SpaceX rocket launch scam | Trend Micro news

Yesterday (October 13), SpaceX successfully completed another groundbreaking rocket test launch. The launch was livestreamed on YouTube by multiple outlets. At the same time, fraudsters saw a perfect opportunity to launch a scam. The scammers created a fake SpaceX YouTube channel and posted their own fake livestream – unfortunately, it was the top search result on YouTube for many hours.

Note the strange music symbol in the name of the fake channel – inserting symbols is a common tactic used by scammers when posing as well-known brands. Below is the official SpaceX channel – note the authenticating “tick”. As can be observed, the fake channel received live views between 200 and 300,000.

When users clicked on the fake channel’s livestream, they saw a fake video that appeared to show Elon Musk giving a speech to mark the launch. This fake Elon Musk also announced a get-rich-quick crypto scheme: would-be victims were asked to deposit crypto amounts, which were then doubled and returned by Musk and his company.

To participate, viewers were asked to scan the (fraudulent) QR code, which would redirect users to a fake website created by the scammers. At this point, victims’ cryptocurrencies and personal credentials would likely be stolen by the scammers – which would then undoubtedly disappear. Beware of the fake website “starshipstart[.]com”!

The fake channel appears to have been removed – although the website is still online. Additionally, since this just happened, it is unknown how many people unfortunately fell victim to the scam. . . But given the sheer volume of spectators, things aren’t looking good.

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