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Platform guide

YouTube Scams

Scams running through YouTube videos, livestreams, and comments.

Last reviewed: 1 June 2026

YouTube's video format gives scammers a powerful tool for appearing credible. Fraudsters use deepfake videos of well-known entrepreneurs and celebrities, hijack legitimate channels with large subscriber counts, or create polished tutorial-style content to promote fake investment platforms and crypto giveaways.

Livestream hijacking — where a stolen channel broadcasts a fake celebrity endorsement of a crypto scheme — has become particularly widespread. Comment sections under financial videos are also seeded with fake success stories pointing viewers to fraudulent platforms.

This guide explains the scams most often encountered on YouTube, the signals that distinguish them from genuine content, and what to do if you have been targeted.

Common scams on YouTube

  • Livestream hijacking for crypto giveaways

    Stolen channels with large subscriber counts broadcast looped deepfake videos promising to double cryptocurrency sent to a wallet address.

  • Fake investment tutorial channels

    Professionally produced channels promote trading software or platforms that are fraudulent.

  • Seeded comment scams

    Comment sections under legitimate finance videos are filled with fake testimonials and contact details for 'mentors' who are actually scammers.

  • Phishing in video descriptions

    Links in video descriptions lead to fake login pages or wallet-connection sites designed to steal credentials.

Common red flags

  • A livestream on a large channel that suddenly shifts to promoting a crypto giveaway
  • Video content that features a celebrity appearing to endorse a specific investment platform without independent verification
  • Comments full of near-identical success stories with contact details
  • Investment or trading software that can only be accessed via a link in a video description
  • Any promise to multiply cryptocurrency you send to a wallet address

How to protect yourself

  • Enable two-factor authentication on your Google account, which protects YouTube
  • Research any investment platform mentioned in a video independently before engaging
  • Never send cryptocurrency based on a YouTube livestream or video promotion
  • Report suspicious videos and channels using YouTube's flag feature
  • Be sceptical of comment-section 'mentors' offering to guide your investments

How to report it

  1. Click the three-dot menu on any video and select 'Report'
  2. Use YouTube's Help Centre to report channel hijacking or fraudulent content
  3. Report financial scams to your national fraud authority and, if money was sent, to your bank or crypto exchange

Frequently asked questions

Why do scam livestreams appear on channels with millions of subscribers?

Scammers hack established channels because their subscriber count and history lend false credibility. If a normally non-crypto channel suddenly runs a cryptocurrency giveaway livestream, it has almost certainly been hijacked.

Are the success stories in YouTube comment sections real?

Comments promoting investment 'mentors' or trading platforms under financial videos are almost always planted by scam operations. Real success is rarely shared in YouTube comments with a stranger's contact details.

Focused guides for YouTube

39 guides on specific scams as they appear on YouTube.

Sources