A verified Twitter account masquerading as Elon Musk was used to publish and circulate a promoted tweet for a crypto giveaway scam Thursday morning.
The since-deleted tweet was posted through the account @TylerFlorence, which as of press time is still accessible. A link posted to the tweet directs to a giveaway site (which CoinDesk is not linking), prompting users to “sеnd frоm 0.2 to 5 BTC tо the address bеlow and gеt frоm 1 to 100 ВTC back!”
Who is at @TylerFlorence and why is he pretending to be Elon Musk giving away bit coin. But needing one first to confirm the account? pic.twitter.com/eUoSg0VwEn
— Stu_!$_Flu_Manchu (@StuartAC130) October 11, 2018
The news triggered an outcry from users who saw the tweet, renewing scrutiny of the social media platform’s anti-scam practices.
The incident is notable given that it involved a verified account but also that the scam information was circulated by way of a promoted tweet. Promoted tweets are paid for and are generally used by advertisers to reach a wider audience than they normally would through their existing network of followers, taking advantage of search trends (in this case, the public interest around the controversial Tesla CEO) to boost performance and visibility.