Wave of Twitter scams impersonating Vitalik Buterin as The Merge approaches

Twitter has been flooded with fake profiles of Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, promoting fraudulent cryptocurrency giveaways ahead of the network’s transition to the Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm.

The attackers acquired verified accounts and altered profile details to create the illusion of a genuine Buterin account.

A user under the handle greezbok uploaded a photo of the Ethereum co-founder and offered a chance to win 100,000 ETH ($159 million) in a The Merge–timed giveaway.

To celebrate the Merge, Ethereum Foundation is giving away 100,000 ETH! 🎉

First come, first serve ➡️ https://t.co/ueeqxqUDrv
You can only participate once. #Ethereum #EthereumMerge #ETH #Merge pic.twitter.com/FRxsPw13aF

— vitalik.eth (@greezbock) September 13, 2022

This was reported to Buterin. In response, he invoked the scammers’ favourite line, \”Why is everybody silent about this?\”, accompanying it with a link to Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up.

But why is everybodyy silentFQTP on thiss???https://t.co/TPHtN8zpUJ

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) September 14, 2022

According to the countdown timer, launched by Google, there are just over 15 hours left until the mainnet migration to PoS.

Earlier in September, attackers hacked PwC Venezuela Twitter account to promote a fake XRP giveaway on behalf of Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse.

Later, on the day of the iPhone 14 launch, unknown actors started streaming an old interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook in a bid to steal cryptocurrencies.

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