YouTube has a bitcoin scam problem, too, lawsuit says

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Cryptocurrency criminals are lurking on YouTube, a recent lawsuit filed by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak claims.

Most of the schemes involve scams that purport to be giving bitcoins away but in fact are designed to steal the virtual money, along with other types of cryptocurrency, from users of the popular streaming video site. Wozniak's complaint alleges YouTube has hosted videos that use footage of him without his permission to pull off the bitcoin scams.

A July study by analytics firm Whale Alert found that YouTube users had lost $24 million in bitcoin and related scams in the first six months of 2020. That's up from $14 million over the prior three and a half years combined.

A spokesperson for Alphabet-owned YouTube told CBS MoneyWatch it removed 2.3 million videos and closed 1.7 million accounts in the first three months of the year in connection with scams and other deceptive practices on its platform. YouTube did not confirm how many of those scams included cryptocurrencies, but the spokesperson denied that bitcoin-related fraud is a major problem for the site.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/youtube-has-a-bitcoin-scam-problem-too-lawsuit-says/ar-BB17hd1o?li=BBnb7Kz

[samnsara]

1. wasnt something like this going on last year? i remember a tweet from "Bill Gates" and bit coins..

..im so glad my mother didnt raise a sucker..

[Wounded Bear]

2. Isn't bitcoin itself basically a scam?

I mean it sounds like the ultimate pyramid scheme to me.

[zipplewrath]

3. Depends upon your definition

Cryptocurrency really isn't all that different from regular currency. It has no intrinsic value and derives its value from the people who accept it. Governments can attempt to force its use but that frequently is disrupted in many countries where foreign currencies become preferred. There was a time, when the merchant class first began it's rise to power, that merchants developed their own currencies. It undermined the power of monarchies and they ultimately developed their own and outlawed private currencies.