- A man lost $25,500 in bitcoin to a fake Metallica channel, according to the local WIBW-TV station.
- Metallica posted a statement warning fans about the rise of hoax channels promising giveaways.
The rock band Metallica is warning its fans to watch out for cryptocurrency scams after a spate of scams was reported across the fandom. In one case, a Kansas man filed a police report in early December claiming a Metallica channel scammed him into sending over $25,000 in bitcoin to a random account, according to the local CBS-affiliate station WIBW-TV.
The recent rise in Metallica crypto scams led the heavy metal band to post a statement on its official Instagram Tuesday warning about "fake YouTube channels" claiming to "offer Metallica Crypto giveaways" in relation to the group's upcoming album, "72 Seasons," and tour.
"Let's be as clear as possible. These are scams," the group wrote in the post, which has amassed over 140,000 likes. "They're being streamed on fake YouTube channels posing to be ours and all pointing to websites that we do not run."
The alleged $25,500 scam in Manhattan, Kansas, is so far the only reported incident of a hoax Metallica page successfully defrauding someone. The victim was 51, and police in Riley County filed a report for theft by deception, according to WIBV-TV. The Riley County police department did not respond to Insider's request for comment.
Insider was unable to find any fake Metallica YouTube channels or livestreams on Wednesday morning, although there were several videos alerting people to the scams and the group's statement.
While YouTube appears to have removed the offending channels, there are several tweets describing the scam. One person said it was a "non stop stream" posing as Metallica, while another user shared a picture of a phony Metallica channel with over 42,000 subscribers supposedly playing the unreleased new album in a livestream.
Another user similarly shared a screenshot of a website with images of the band members that advertised itself as "the first Metallica crypto giveaway" and said lucky participants could "receive a part of 20,000 BTC."
—Ya Boi Matt (@Matt_Bone_) December 4, 2022
—Wisdom Ganga (@GangaWisdom) November 30, 2022
There are also many identical, seemingly inauthentic tweets from users urging people to enter a giveaway to win a Metallica jigsaw puzzle.
The US Federal Trade Commission's "Data Spotlight" department released a warning earlier in 2022 about the rise of cryptocurrency scams. The post said over 46,000 people had reported being scammed out of over $1 billion in crypto between the beginning of 2021 and June 2022, and that almost 50% of the victims were tricked because of a social media post or message.