Another channel on YouTube has fallen victim to hackers. This time it’s Neebs Gaming and they were hijacked by cryptocurrency scammers over the weekend.
A few days ago, the Neebs Gaming YouTube channel announced to its two million subscribers that its YouTube account has been hacked. They warned their viewers to not click any of the links on their videos where the hijackers likely put fake links to hack accounts.
Is YouTube doing anything about this?
To get YouTube’s attention, Neebs Gaming tagged YouTube to try and get them to help them solve the problem. YouTube responded with a very unhelpful response: “Sorry to hear about this – can you still sign in to your YouTube channel?” YouTube then linked the creator to tips on how to add “extra layers of security.”
The creators were completely locked out of their account. The channel’s name has been changed to CoinBase Pro and none of the videos are viewable in the home and video tabs. Luckily, Neebs Gaming revealed they were able to get their channel back. Neebs Gaming thanked “@TeamYouTube for getting this taken care of and thank you guys for being there for us!”
Hackers posing as CoinBase Pro
The hackers in question are posing as the CoinBase Pro brand. They are posing as its CEO, Brian Armstrong. They changed the channel’s name and banner to try and mislead subscribers into participating in fake Bitcoin giveaways. In addition, they host a live stream titled “Coinbase CEO announced the greatest crypto Air-Drop 10,000 Bitcoin, Live.”
During the live stream, the hackers said they’d give Neebs Gaming viewers 10x returns if they send their bitcoin to their wallet address. They also used footage from an old video made by Armstrong of a live AMA back in April 2019. In total, around 95,000 people reportedly watched the stream, however it is possible more joined in. The hackers’ Bitcoin address had received just over 2.465 BTC in 20 separate transactions. That is about $24,000 in total stolen.
What does this teach us?
This is sadly not an uncommon thing to happen to both creators and users. Neebs Gaming’s incident isn’t unique on YouTube. There are tons of scammers and hackers looking to cause trouble and make a quick buck. You need to always make sure you know what links you are clicking and who you are talking with. Always make sure you know what address a link is sending you to. There are links sent by hackers and scammers that will instantly download software onto your computer that will allow them to take over. Be careful and always be cautious.
Image courtesy: Neebs Gaming