An anonymous bad actor hacked into the popular YouTube channel DidYouKnowGaming and tried to promote XRP cryptocurrency scams.
YouTube was able to quickly intervene after the incident and prevented the bad actor from causing major damage, Cointelegraph reported.
DidYouKnowGaming, which has nearly 2.4 million subscribers, took to Twitter Friday to warn fans about the account being hacked.
“The DidYouKnowGaming Google account was just hacked. We just lost access to YouTube. Working on getting it back. If anyone knows someone who can help, let us know,” it wrote.
After gaining access to the account, the bad actor changed the channel’s profile picture and cover image to the logo of blockchain company Ripple, which developed the XRP payment system.
YouTube soon responded to DidYouKnowGaming’s tweet and said it could help restore their access to the compromised account.
“So sorry you’re having to deal with this! first, we’ll need to get some quick info from you & then we’ll connect you w/ a specialist team who helps restore account access. follow us & we’ll be able to DM you the info you need!” YouTube’s response read.
YouTube was able to ensure that the XRP hackers were not able to interact with DidYouKnowGaming’s subscribers.
DidYouKnowGaming eventually regained access and posted a tweet Saturday informing fans about the same.
Crypto investors have been exposed to risk in the past, as hackers often target YouTube to promote cryptocurrency scams, especially XRP.
Deepfake videos have also been used to circulate videos of high-profile figures, such as SpaceX founder and Twitter CEO Elon Musk, who was seen in a fake video promoting a new trading platform that offered 30% returns on crypto deposits.
Elon Musk’s deep fake video promoting a new cryptocurrency scam going viral. The video claims that the trading platform is owned by Elon Musk, and offers 30% returns on crypto deposits. @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/iJeUvHYc5p
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) May 24, 2022
Popular YouTube channel Linus Tech Tips, which has 15.3 million subscribers, was also hacked in March and saw several videos for crypto scams being live-streamed. The incident was just one of the multiple scam breaches reported at the time, according to The Verge.
It is unclear how the hackers are gaining access to YouTube accounts. However, the YouTubers have reportedly been able to regain control of their accounts and even recover deleted videos following the breaches.
