The massive scam tactic: how fake Elon Musk giveaways exploit crypto investors

Criminals operate on a large scale by leveraging Elon Musk’s prestige to trap cryptocurrency enthusiasts. In recent months, a wave of scams has spread across social media, claiming that Tesla and X founder Elon Musk is offering massive amounts of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Bitcoin (BTC) currently priced at $87.26K and Ethereum (ETH) at $2.96K naturally attract greed, making these scams particularly effective.

How does the trap work?

The mechanics are simple but deadly effective. Fraudulent accounts imitate official Tesla and X announcements, offering a generous distribution: supposedly 5,000 BTC and 100,000 ETH distributed to participants. Scammers create fake websites resembling authentic Medium pages attributed to Elon Musk, redirecting victims to seemingly legitimate registration forms.

Once registered, users are invited to make an initial cryptocurrency transfer to “activate” their participation in the giveaway. They are promised double the amount: send 0.05 to 2 BTC to receive 4 to 8 back; transfer 1 ETH to receive 2.4. Naturally, no refunds ever occur.

Evidence of the deception

Several elements unequivocally reveal the fraudulent nature of these offers. Elon Musk has never initiated a cryptocurrency distribution in the past, and his companies have never implemented such a program. The X platform is currently facing significant financial challenges and negative cash flows, making the idea of distributing over $600,000 in digital assets entirely implausible.

The domains used by scammers—event-promotion.info and event-finance.net—were registered discreetly between May and June 2024. These private and recent registrations are characteristic signatures of illegal operations. Genuine Musk, Tesla, and X accounts are distinguished by official verification badges and exclusively use their authenticated institutional channels.

Manipulative techniques to maximize losses

Scammers constantly refine their methods to exploit human psychology. They offer tiered bonuses to encourage larger transfers: a 40% bonus for deposits of 1 ETH or more, a 200% bonus for amounts of 40 ETH and above. These fictitious rewards directly target greed, pushing victims to increase their investments and consequently their losses.

How to protect yourself effectively?

Vigilance must be ongoing. Before participating in any offer involving prominent personalities or recognized brands, always verify authenticity through official channels. Elon Musk and his organizations communicate exclusively via verified platforms with official blue badges.

Concrete measures to take:

• Directly check the official Twitter/X accounts of involved personalities or brands
• Inspect the URL of any site offering an opportunity: legitimate domains exactly match those of official entities
• Never transfer cryptocurrencies while waiting for a promised reward
• Report fraudulent accounts and malicious domains to social media administrators
• Always question offers that seem too good to be true—real investments do not operate on this model

The losses caused by these scams are final. Funds transferred to addresses controlled by criminals disappear irretrievably, with no recovery mechanism. Protect your wallet by prioritizing verification over opportunism.