By Tobi Loba
The CEO of IOHK, Charles Hoskinson, has taken it upon himself to warn the Cardano community and the members of the crypto community of the ongoing perpetration of scammers that are taking advantage of the popular video-sharing platform, YouTube.
Perpetration of scammers using fake giveaways of various digital currencies, especially XRP and Bitcoin (BTC), has become a norm in the crypto ecosystem.
The recent price surge experienced by Cardano’s native token ADA has made the holders of the cryptocurrency the target of scammers.
Charles Hoskinson Warns Cardano (ADA) Users of Scammers
According to Charles Hoskinson, a scam has been going around, using the keynote he delivered at the recently conducted Shelley Virtual Summit, to promote a giveaway.
In the tweet, Charles provided a link to the fake giveaway, warning people to report the video to YouTube, because it’s totally a scam. He also stated that legal action will be taken if possible, in order to discourage such perpetuation in the future.
Charles Hoskinson shared this, “It has come to my attention that a scam has been floating around using my conference keynote to promote a giveaway, youtu.be this is a scam. Please report it to YouTube. We will take legal action if we can against those responsible.”
It has come to my attention that a scam has been floating around using my conference keynote to promote a giveaway https://t.co/x2VV2niY68 this is a scam. Please report it to YouTube. We will take legal action if we can against those responsible.
— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) July 12, 2020
However, at press time, the fake giveaway promotion has been taken down by YouTube, but it’s obvious that the perpetrators might still come up with other means.
IOHK Will Never Run ADA ‘Giveaway’ Promotion
In order to make the message reach more users, Charles Hoskinson shared a video about the activity of the desperate scammers. According to him, some users are already falling victim to the scam.
In response to the video shared by Hoskinson, IOHK noted that it never run Cardano (ADA) promotion, adding that anyone promising a free ADA is possibly a scammer.
IOHK tweeted “Be aware: we are currently seeing a significant increase in scammer activity on YouTube and other social channels. Remember IOHK will NEVER run ‘giveaway’ promotion. Anyone offering you free ADA is almost certainly a scammer trying to steal your funds.”
Be aware: we are currently seeing a significant increase in scammer activity on YouTube and other social channels. Remember IOHK will NEVER run 'giveaway' promotion. Anyone offering you free ADA is almost certainly a scammer trying to steal your funds. https://t.co/GRNt3M7nwv
— Input Output (@InputOutputHK) July 13, 2020