Popular YouTuber Scuba Jake’s channel hacked to run crypto scam

YouTube is frequently targeted in hacks especially to carry out crypto scams. The severity of crypto scams on YouTube can be quantified by the fact that in July 2020, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak ended up suing Google and YouTube over Bitcoin giveaway scams being carried out in his name.

Now, another viral YouTuber Jake Koehler (aka Scuba Jake) has suffered a similar hack in which his channel “DALLMYD” was compromised to run a crypto scam and steal funds from his subscribers.

It is worth noting that Jake’s channel has more than 13 million subscribers and boasts 1.75 billion views since its creation in 2011. The American YouTuber is known for uploading scuba-diving videos where he goes underwater on treasure hunts and finds/returns lost items including smartphones, gadgets, and jewelry.

Archive video of Scuba Jake’s YouTube channel

According to the financial news and crypto analysis blog Finbold, the hacking occurred on September 9th, 2022. Reportedly, crypto scammers hijacked the channel and tried to defraud innocent followers of Scuba Jake in a fake giveaway scheme involving cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum.

What’s worse, apparently scammers managed to steal 1.01 BTC (around $21,000). This analysis was based on the QR codes scammers shared with users to scan before sending crypto.

On the other hand, a look at Blockchain.com confirms that the scammers’ Bitcoin wallet shared with users received four transactions, and since its creation, it has received around 1.0107 BTC. That’s the same amount the scammers stole from Jake’s subscribers, but it may be higher because the scammers might have used multiple wallets during the live stream. It is worth noting that no transaction was made in the Ethereum wallet.

Scammers also changed Jake’s channel name to MicroStrategy US to replicate the firm MicroStrategy, a USA’s crypto-friendly business intelligence firm. Scammers hosted two live streams of an old video showcasing ex-CEO of the company and Bitcoin enthusiast Michael Saylor.

The scammers deceived unsuspecting subscribers of Jake into sending cryptocurrency and receiving a prize or higher reward from Saylor. They targeted the channel because of Jake’s massive following.

Although Jake has already confirmed the hack on his Instagram story but at the time of writing his channel was unavailable to viewers. A search for his YouTube channel shows video collaboration with other YouTubers while his channel is nowhere to be found on YouTube.

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I am a UK-based cybersecurity journalist with a passion for covering the latest happenings in cyber security and tech world. I am also into gaming, reading and investigative journalism