14 DAY TRIAL // Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has decided to file a lawsuit against Google-owned YouTube, claiming that the site failed to remove a series of scam videos that used his name in an attempt to trick people into sending Bitcoin to a specific wallet.
The scam, which is similar to an attack that was carried on Twitter earlier this month, involves a fake giveaway that malicious actors were running in the name of Wozniak and which encouraged viewers to send cryptocurrency to a certain address only to be paid twice the amount at a later time.
Wozniak says he reached out to YouTube to remove the videos but the site failed to take proper action.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Wozniak sued YouTube together with 17 other people who were victims of similar scams, and they’re all requesting the video sharing service to take down the links and warn users that it’s all just a fake giveaway.
Furthermore, Wozniak and the rest of victims try to obtain compensatory and punitive damages.
The Twitter attack
They claim that Twitter managed to block similar scams in a matter of hours, but YouTube just ignored all requests to remove the scam videos from the platform.
Earlier this month, malicious actors managed to obtain access to a series of high-profile Twitter accounts and post messages inviting followers to send money to a specific crypto wallet to then receive twice the amount they transfer. Bill Gates, Elon Musk, the official Apple account, and several other popular profiles were targeted.
Twitter reacted rather fast, first by locking the accounts completely and preventing them from posting more messages, and then by helping owners reclaim control and remove any tweets published by the attacks. A total of 36 accounts were targeted by the hack, according to a Twitter investigation, and hackers made over $120,000 from people who transferred money to the wallet.