Elon Musk isn’t giving away Bitcoin! ‘Motherload’ scam earned $2M last week
![giveaway, bitcoin](https://protos-media.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/30111354/Protos-Artwork-TwBTCScam-E5-1536x864.jpg)
A complex web of Bitcoin giveaway scams earned $2 million in cryptocurrency last week — mostly by impersonating Elon Musk.
The campaign, which Protos has dubbed ‘the Motherload,’ is linked to dozens of Bitcoin phishing scams featuring the likeness of popular billionaires.
![giveaway, giving away, bitcoin](https://protos-media.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/30111351/Screenshot-2021-02-23-at-15.14.49-1024x669.png)
In total, the Motherload’s giveaway stash has now received over 221 BTC ($10.8 million) since its origin in August last year.
- 41.4 BTC ($2 million) flowed in last week.
- 93.9 BTC ($4.6 million) in February so far.
- 180 BTC ($8.7 million) in the year-to-date.
Two of the Motherload’s biggest ever deposits were made in the past two days: 12 BTC ($584,800) on Sunday and 13.8 BTC ($672,500) on Monday — together worth over $1.25 million.
The scams all work the same, a fantastically wealthy public figure is giving away 5,000 BTC to anyone who sends them cryptocurrency, except it’s a ruse.
Twitter bots spread links to fraudulent blogs underneath posts from celebrities, often posing as billionaires themselves.
There are also numerous reports of the scams advertised on YouTube.
![giveaway, giving away](https://protos-media.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/30111352/Screenshot-2021-02-23-at-15.11.57-1024x736.png)
We previously reported the Motherload seemed to be finding the most success with fake Chamath-themed giveaways.
However, most of the Bitcoin stolen by the Motherload last week came from addresses tied to scams featuring Tesla’s chief exec.
[Read more: Bitcoin giveaway scam ‘Motherload’ steals $1M in one week]
Other ploys featuring Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss still seem to be the least effective.
Protos is maintaining a database of domains we’ve tied to the giveaway scam, found below.