Metallica is ending what will be a seven-year hiatus with the release of their new studio album 72 Seasons, set to release Apr. 14, 2023. Fake YouTube videos have been circulating the web in the midst of the release announcement, claiming to be a new interview with the band members promoting their new album, according to a report from Forbes. The videos lure fans in with a “download” QR code stamped on the video, which clais to be the unreleased album. But it’s actually a link to a crypto scam.
What is the Metallica crypto scam?
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The video the promotes a QR code that takes you to a Metallica-themed crypto website. It asks you to choose Bitcoin or Ethereum as your preferred crypto, then invites you to the “first Metallica crypto giveaway.” Except that there’s no such thing. The scam asks you to enter the giveaway by spending a small amount of Bitcoin, and says that you will “immediately receive double the amount back.” Unfortunately, there have already been victims reported to have lost about $25,000 in Bitcoin to the scam.
The video had the same logo and channel name as the original Metallica channel. It even has a respectable amount of subscribers (19.1K at the time of writing), but nowhere near the 9.21 million from the official channel.
Usernames are unique on YouTube, but channel names can be used by multiple people. The bad username was actually “@Memetallica” instead of @Metallica, and the “live” video of the interview has fooled people, when it’s really an old press interview from the COVID lockdown.
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In general, big events are often targeted by scammers who pretend to offer giveaways or discounted tickets. Always pay attention to cleverly misspelled usernames and clever wordplay, and check with official accounts to see if whatever’s being promoted is actually real.