Scam Via Videos
Pioneer blockchain security company CertiK, reported that the hike in usage of front-running scam bots on YouTube in the form of videos accounted for 500% this year.
An Analysis report presented by CertiK, under the head “Anatomy of Front Running Scams,” stated that “Front running is the process of utilizing inside knowledge of an unconfirmed transaction to conduct a trade ahead of the original one, essentially beating it to the punch and taking all the profit on offer.”
As per the website’s YouTube statistics, out of all the videos that had been found mentioning “front running bot”, 84% were scams.
CertiK reported that from 28 such scam videos in 2021, the number shot up to 168 in 2022 so far clocking a 500% increase.
By examining videos with caution, one can identify “Clickbait” titles on YouTube. They usually contain catchy phrases and titles. The following are examples of such titles:
- PancakeSwap Front Run Bot (Sniper Bot) – Make x10 INSTANTLY (NO DOWNLOAD)
- $15,000 Front Running Crypto Bot Leak! – 50X HUGE RETURNS!
- Uniswap Front Running Bot 2022 – EASY TUTORIAL (Huge profits)
The victims of such videos are misguided into downloading the fake scam bot softwares, which steals their assets once they engage in front-running transactions.
CertiK stated, “There are common themes in all of these videos: free code and huge returns. Successful runners won’t give away free code on a social media site, they will sell it for a large amount on underground forums.”
An alarming trend
Skynet Alerts reports, state that almost $3,4 billion has been stolen in several scams and exploits in the Web3 space from 573 attacks in 2022. In November, there were 36 major attacks.
Rumors and YouTube’s algorithms push these videos up in rank for top recommendations. Fake comments beneath the front-running bot scam videos give the impression that these videos are legitimate and safe. Here’s an example of such a comment: “gratitude for giving the advice, we made a lot of money by the strategies.”
One can check the authenticity of videos by checking the date and time of posting the video and the number of fake comments on it.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/12/08/hike-of-over-500-in-front-running-scam-bots-on-youtube/