Highlights:
- Hackers hijacked the Supreme Court of India’s YouTube channel to promote an XRP scam.
- Hackers replaced legal content with fake XRP livestream, urging investments.
- YouTube suspended the channel, and security concerns for popular accounts rose.
On September 20, the official YouTube channel of the Supreme Court of India, which has over 217,000 followers, was reportedly hacked to promote a Ripple and XRP scam. The Supreme Court uses the channel to stream hearings for cases before Constitution Benches and matters of public interest.
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The official YouTube channel of the Supreme Court of India that was used for streaming proceedings was purportedly compromised by hackers on Friday showing crypto advertisements https://t.co/0J5ozNi0RZ
— Bloomberg (@business) September 20, 2024
The hackers transformed the channel into a Ripple-themed account and removed all previous videos and live proceedings from the channel. Instead of legal proceedings, a live stream titled “Brad Garlinghouse: Ripple Responds to the SEC’s $2 Billion Fine! XRP PRICE PREDICTION” was featured, distracting from the court’s important work. In the stream, they urged viewers to invest in the scam by promising unrealistic returns. The hackers changed the channel’s name and URL.
YouTube Suspends Supreme Court of India’s Channel
YouTube has suspended the Supreme Court of India’s channel, with plans to restore it shortly. This incident underscores a rising issue where scammers target popular channels, prompting Ripple Labs to sue YouTube for failing to protect its brand.
The fake XRP livestreams frequently contain phishing links encouraging users to connect their crypto wallets. Once a user approves the connection request, the hackers obtain complete access to the wallet and can withdraw funds without any additional authentication. Hacking the Supreme Court’s YouTube channel raises significant security concerns for popular channels. Viewers should remain vigilant and report suspicious activity, as the court relies on this channel for transparency in legal proceedings.
YouTube Faces Repeated XRP Scams
This incident is not an isolated case. In April, YouTube neutralized a similar XRP scam targeting the gaming channel DidYouKnowGaming. The scammers rebranded the account and deleted older videos, but YouTube successfully recovered the hacked account along with its content. While the exploit used by hackers to access YouTube accounts remains unknown, affected YouTubers have consistently been able to recover their accounts and any deleted videos.
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!
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) April 28, 2023
Moreover, in July, the YouTube account of Ben&Ben, a nine-member pop band with over three million followers, was hacked to livestream a fraudulent XRP advertisement. On their official Facebook page, the band announced that hackers had compromised their YouTube channel.
Several #Filipino musicians, including popular bands like #Ben&Ben and #SB19, had their #YouTube accounts hacked to promote an #XRP scam featuring a deepfake video of #Ripple CEO Brad #Garlinghouse.
The #scam aimed to deceive viewers into visiting phishing websites, promising… pic.twitter.com/M6zhaRf9g8
— TOBTC (@_TOBTC) July 16, 2024
Hackers Use Deepfake YouTube Videos of Prominent Figures to Promote Crypto Scams
On September 9, scammers filled YouTube with deepfake videos of Apple CEO Tim Cook, trying to trick viewers into investing in cryptocurrencies. This scam coincided with Apple’s “Glowtime” event for the iPhone 16 launch. The fake livestreams featured an AI-generated Tim Cook urging 350,000 viewers to send Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, or Dogecoin to a “contribution address” for a promised double return.
One of the fake live streams was hosted on a cloned “Apple US” channel with a verified badge. Many streams drew hundreds of thousands of viewers, though many likely came from fake accounts to boost perceived legitimacy. YouTube’s support team confirmed the issue in a September 9 X post, asking users to report the fake videos.
#Crypto scammers used deepfake technology to impersonate #Apple CEO Tim #Cook during the iPhone 16 launch livestream, urging viewers to send cryptocurrencies in a "double-your-money" #scam.
The fake livestreams, hosted on #YouTube, asked users to send #Bitcoin, #Ether, #Tether,… pic.twitter.com/Ps79d4vNpu
— TOBTC (@_TOBTC) September 10, 2024
Moreover, during the Bitcoin 2024 conference from July 25-27, crypto users lost over $79,000 due to a deepfake AI livestream featuring a fake Elon Musk speech. Although Musk was rumored to have attended, he did not speak at the event and was not involved in the video.
Dunworth’s post revealed a fake livestream on a “Tesla” channel, misleadingly named after Musk’s company but lacking official endorsement. In contrast, the real conference livestream was hosted on Bitcoin Magazine’s official YouTube channel.
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