Beware of crypto-stealing, AI-powered trading bot scams on YouTube

Crypto scammers are now using YouTube to distribute malicious code disguised as trading bots, highlighting the dangers of AI-generated content.

Threat intelligence and malware analysis team SentinelLABS said the campaign they uncovered has already stolen more than $900,000 worth of crypto assets.

Here's how the criminals operate: to look legitimate, they use aged YouTube accounts and distribute content on crypto trading, while in the video descriptions they share a link to a site with malicious smart contract code. When a victim deploys the smart contract, they're manipulated into giving away their funds.

Moreover, according to SentinelLABS, the contract also contains a failover mechanism that allows the attacker to withdraw funds sent to the contract. The researchers found that each scam tricks users into depositing a minimum of 0.5 ETH ($1,958) "to ensure sufficient funds for arbitrage profit," as well as accounting for gas fees.

According to them, while several videos appear to be AI-generated, the most successful one looks to be real. It helped the attacker steal $900,000 in crypto assets, while others stole thousands of dollars’ worth.

"Various iterations of the scam have been ongoing since at least early 2024, with different videos and YouTube accounts used for distribution. The actors are likely managing the YouTube comment section to delete any negative comments, with more savvy users turning to platforms like Reddit for additional context on the bot," the cybersecurity researchers said.

The attackers also use multiple obfuscation techniques to hide their wallet addresses in each smart contract.

Therefore, SentinelLABS urged crypto users to treat trading tools promoted through unverified social media or video content with extreme caution and to avoid deploying code marketed via influencer videos or social media posts.

"The combination of AI-generated content and aged YouTube accounts available for sale means that any modestly resourced actor can obtain a YouTube account that the algorithm deems ‘established’ and weaponize the account to post customized content under a false pretext of legitimacy," they concluded.