- A man lost $25,500 worth of bitcoins on a fake Metallica channel, according to local station WIBW-TV.
- Metallica released a statement warning fans about the rise of fake channels promising giveaways.
- Although YouTube seems to have taken down the scams, there are screenshots online.
Rock band Metallica is warning their fans to beware of cryptocurrency scams after a spate of scams were reported across the fandom. In one case, a Kansas man filed a police report in early December alleging that a Metallica channel scammed him into sending more than $25,000 in bitcoin to a random account, according to local station WIBW-TV, a CBS affiliate.
The recent rise in Metallica crypto scams prompted the heavy metal band to post a statement on his official Instagram Warning Tuesday about “fake YouTube channels” claiming to “offer Metallica Crypto freebies” in connection with the group’s upcoming album “72 Seasons” and tour.
“Let’s be as clear as possible. These are scams,” the group wrote in the post, which has amassed more than 140,000 likes. “They are broadcast on fake YouTube channels posing as ours and they all point to websites we don’t manage.”
The alleged $25,500 scam in Manhattan, Kansas is so far the only reported incident of a fake Metallica page successfully defrauding someone. The victim was 51 years old and Riley County police filed a robbery by deception complaint, according to WIBV-TV. The Riley County Police Department did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Insider couldn’t find any fake Metallica YouTube channels or live streams Wednesday morning, though there were several videos alerting people to the scams and the group’s statement.
While YouTube appears to have removed the offending channels, there are several tweets outlining the scam. One person said it was a “continuous stream” posing as Metallica, while another user shared a photo from a fake Metallica channel with over 42,000 subscribers reportedly streaming the new unreleased album on a live stream.
Another similar user shared a screenshot of a website featuring images of the band members billed as “Metallica’s first ever cryptocurrency giveaway” and said lucky entrants could “receive a share of 20,000 BTC.”
—Ya Boi Matt (@Matt_Bone_) December 4, 2022
—Ganga Wisdom (@GangaWisdom) November 30, 2022
There are also many identical, seemingly inauthentic tweets from users urging people to enter a sweepstakes to win a Metallica puzzle.
The “Data Spotlight” department of the US Federal Trade Commission. issued a warning in early 2022 about the rise in cryptocurrency scams. The post said that more than 46,000 people reported being scammed out of more than $1 billion in cryptocurrency between early 2021 and June 2022, with nearly 50% of victims being duped due to a post or message on social media. social.
