Threat Management, Security Strategy, Plan, Budget

Bitcoin scammers posing as Elon Musk exploit Thai Cave rescue efforts

Crypto scammers looking to profit off of the rescue of 12 young soccer players and their coach from a Thai cave posed as Elon Musk in order to steal Bitcoin from unsuspecting users.

On July 9, Musk tweeted that he had just returned from the cave site and had left a mini-submarine in case it may have been useful to the rescue efforts.

In the thread of comments below the tweets, a scammer pretending to be Musk responded to doubters suggesting Musk's moves were part of a publicity stunt by saying it wouldn't hurt to have the sub on hand and to remember his “promise” from the day before followed by a link to a purported Tesla giveaway.

The link actually leads to a phishing page claiming that if users send between 0.1 and 5 Bitcoin and they will get from 1 to 50 Bitcoin in return. The scammer also addresses users who defend Musk's action by thanking them for their support and posting the link under the guise of a reward for their support.

Users can identify the fake account by looking at the scammers handle but these tactics have proven effective as users may only pay attention to the actual name and photo and not pay attention to the lack of a verified logo.

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