Crypto Drain Scams Surge as Hackers Hijack Abandoned YouTube Accounts
Cybercriminals are breathing new life into dormant YouTube channels—turning them into crypto-stealing machines. Here’s how they’re doing it.
Subheader: The Old Becomes New Again—For Scams
Forgotten accounts with years of dust on them are now prime targets. Hackers crack weak passwords, scrub old content, and rebrand channels as 'legit' crypto giveaway hubs—complete with fake Elon Musk livestreams and too-good-to-be-true DeFi offers.
Subheader: Drainers Love a Crowd
The playbook is simple: hijack an established channel (some with 100K+ subs), blast phishing links, and siphon wallets dry. No need to build an audience—just exploit one that already exists. Classic Web2 meets Web3 grift.
Subheader: YouTube’s Security Theater
Despite claims of 'enhanced protections,' compromised accounts stay live for days. By the time moderators act, victims have already signed fake transactions—proving once again that in crypto, if it’s free, you’re probably the product.
Closer: Another day, another reminder—always DYOR before clicking. Or just assume every 'free ETH' offer funds a hacker’s Lambo.
SentinelLABS: Crypto Scam Shows Mixed Results but Alarming Success
SentinelLABS senior researcher Alex Delamottea said the scheme has seen mixed results but is clearly effective.
One attacker wallet netted 244.9 ETH, while others collected 7.59 and 4.19 ETH, together totaling over $939,000 at current prices.
“These scams will inevitably work on victims who fail to scrutinize how these tools operate,” Delamottea warned.
What makes the scam particularly deceptive is its delivery. The bad actors are using older YouTube accounts with histories of uploading crypto news, investment advice, or general pop culture content to lend credibility.
It’s unclear whether the scammers created these accounts or purchased them, either is possible, as aged accounts are easily found for sale on Telegram and through search engine ads.
Many of the scam videos appear AI-generated, complete with manipulated visuals and voiceovers.
This allows the perpetrators to produce numerous videos without revealing their identities.
Negative comments are actively removed, while fake testimonials in the comments section claim the bot delivered profits.
“These actors are clearly managing comment sections to maintain an illusion of trust,” Delamottea said, noting that more skeptical users are starting to turn to Reddit to fact-check the bot.
She stressed that crypto traders should avoid deploying code promoted through influencer videos or social media, especially if it promises fast, effortless gains.
“Understand the tool before using it. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
Investor Loses $3M in Crypto Phishing Scam
As reported, a cryptocurrency investor has fallen victim to a phishing scam, losing $3.05 million in Tether (USDT) after unknowingly signing a malicious blockchain transaction.
The loss, flagged by blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain on Wednesday, underscores the rising threat of phishing attacks targeting digital asset holders.
The attacker exploited a common habit among crypto users: validating only the first and last few characters of a wallet address while ignoring the middle.
Crypto investors lost over $2.2 billion to hacks, scams, and breaches in the first half of 2025, driven largely by wallet compromises and phishing attacks, according to CertiK’s latest security report.
Wallet breaches alone caused $1.7 billion in losses across just 34 incidents, while phishing scams accounted for over $410 million across 132 attacks.
