Twitter Feature Exploited by Crypto Scammers for Fake Giveaways and Phishing
-
Cryptocurrency scammers are abusing a Twitter feature that allows tweeting any URL with an account name, even if it's not their own. This allows them to impersonate major crypto companies.
-
The feature works by redirecting an altered URL with an incorrect account name to the actual tweet associated with that status ID.
-
Scammers are using this to promote fake crypto giveaways, phishing sites, wallet-draining malware, pump-and-dump schemes, and more.
-
They often use new accounts with a name plus 5 digits (e.g. @amanda_car16095) to avoid detection.
-
Twitter has had this feature for years and likely won't remove it, so users must carefully check the account name in the URL and on the tweet to avoid scams.