Monday, 04 November 2024
Monday, 04 November 2024
Hackers took over internet sensation Ranveer Allahbadia, also known as BeerBiceps YouTube channels on Thursday and rebranded them with Elon Musk and Donald Trump references before deleting much of his work.
This incident highlights a disturbing trend—India’s digital stars, from comedians to entrepreneurs, are increasingly finding themselves under siege by cybercriminals. In the past one year, some of India’s most influential YouTubers have had their channels hijacked, content erased, and millions of subscribers left in the dark.
Here’s a look at the most high-profile hacking cases that have rocked India’s YouTuber community in recent times.
BeerBiceps (2024)
Hackers took control of YouTube sensation Ranveer Allahbadia, known as BeerBiceps main and personal channels, renaming them with Elon Musk and Donald Trump references—@Elon.trump.tesla_live2024 and @Tesla.event.trump_2024. They wiped out content, including his most popular podcasts and interviews, and replaced them with livestreams featuring Musk and Trump.
MC Stan (2024)
Rapper and Bigg Boss 16 winner MC Stan faced a major setback when hackers took over his YouTube channel, which boasts millions of subscribers. Stan took to Instagram to inform his followers, urging them to stay calm and avoid clicking on suspicious links or QR codes. Fans rallied in support as Stan worked to recover his channel.
Sharan Hegde’s Bitcoin scam livestream (2023)
Entrepreneur Sharan Hegde saw his YouTube account hijacked by hackers, who livestreamed fake Bitcoin prices, claiming the cryptocurrency had reached $100K. Over three years’ worth of Hegde’s content was erased in the attack. YouTube restored the channel and Hegde used the opportunity to remind fellow creators about the importance of security measures.
4. Tanmay Bhat’s 4.4 million subscriber channel renamed ‘Tesla Corp’ (2023)
Comedian Tanmay Bhat became another target in the series of YouTube hacks, with hackers breaching even his two-factor authentication to take over his channel. They renamed the channel “Tesla Corp,” deleted all his videos, and started a livestream. Bhat took to Twitter for help, calling on Google and YouTube to intervene.
Bharti Singh’s podcast channel compromised (2023)
Comedian Bharti Singh’s popular YouTube channel, which hosts her celebrity podcasts, fell victim to a hacking incident, causing Singh to make an urgent plea for assistance from YouTube India. The hackers altered the channel name and other critical details, jeopardizing Singh’s digital brand.
CarryMinati’s gaming channel hijacked for Bitcoin donations (2020)
One of India’s most popular YouTubers, CarryMinati, saw his gaming channel “Carryislive” hacked, with cybercriminals asking subscribers for Bitcoin donations. The attack mirrored a global trend of hackers using high-profile accounts for cryptocurrency scams. CarryMinati’s fans took to Twitter to demand immediate action from YouTube, which responded promptly and restored his channel.
Barkha Dutt’s Mojo Story wiped out (2020)
Hackers targeted journalist Barkha Dutt’s YouTube news platform, The Mojo Story, and deleted over 11,000 videos. YouTube could restore the lost content, but the attack highlighted the dangers of cybercrime for media outlets.
Superwoman aka Lilly Singh’s password stolen (2015)
International YouTube sensation Lilly Singh, known as Superwoman, saw her account hacked and her password changed in 2015. The incident left her locked out of her own channel with over 6 million subscribers. Singh informed her fans, and YouTube worked to resolve the issue, restoring her access and securing the account.
Linus Sebastian
In March 2024, Linus Sebastian of Linus Tech Tips, one of the world’s largest tech YouTubers, suffered a similar attack. According to reports by The Verge, hackers deleted all of his videos and took over his channel, altered account details, and broadcasted fake live streams featuring Musk discussing cryptocurrency.
The attack on BeerBiceps is not an isolated case but part of a larger pattern of hacks tied to Elon Musk’s online popularity. In an attempt to trick unsuspecting viewers, hackers have frequently impersonated Musk or Tesla to execute scams, often live-streaming old videos related to cryptocurrency.
