The news that Metallica is releasing its first new studio album in seven years sent ripples through the music world. Although the world's biggest metal band has toured for years since its last album, Hardwired... to Self Destruct (2016), fans of the band have been left wanting more.Unfortunately, in the wake of the announcement, numerous YouTube channels, live streams, and websites appeared in an attempt to scam Metallica fans. The scams typically attempt to lure Metallica fans as part of a crypto scam, making it difficult to retrieve any stolen funds.
What Is the Metallica Crypto Scam?
In early December 2022, legendary metal band Metallica announced the release of its eleventh studio album, to be titled 72 Seasons, set for April 2023. Understandably, after a long absence from the recording studio, Metallica fans are extremely excited about this release.
Unfortunately, almost immediately after the announcement, a spate of crypto-scams launched, targeting Metallica fans looking for information on the new album, plus a new track set for release and the details of the Metallica tour that will accompany the album.
Fake Metallica streams showcasing old Metallica interviews appeared on YouTube, accompanied by keywords relating to the band, its members, and the upcoming album launch. For example, one stream was titled "James Hetfield: 72 Seasons (playing full album) & Lux Aeterna, World Tour 2023."
Each fake stream also included a QR code advertising a download link for 72 Streams, despite the fact it was only announced a few days prior. Scanning or clicking through the QR code takes unsuspecting Metallica fans to a crypto-scam page, where, if the user follows the instructions, they stand to lose huge amounts of money. News outlet 1350kman reports that one person lost more than $25,000 doing just that.
What Is Metallica Doing About the Crypto Scams?
Given Metallica is a metal band, there's not a heap it can actually do about crypto scams, especially ones like the Twitter crypto scam. However, Metallica did release an official statement regarding the 72 Streams crypto scams and how they have nothing to do with the band.
The tweet from the official Metallica account explains that anything and everything promoting the album or band outside official channels is a scam.
These are scams. They're being streamed on fake YouTube channels posing to be ours and all pointing to websites that we do not run."
The tweet also includes links to Metallica's official social media channels on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter, plus the official Metallica website addresses. Of course, you should always be wary of crypto scams on social media.
Watch Out for Metallica 72 Streams Crypto Scams
Crypto scams are rife. They circulate on Twitter, Reddit, and YouTube; basically, any social media platform is plagued with crypto scams of one form or another.
Unfortunately, despite how awesome the thought of a new Metallica album launch is to fans of the band, criminals are always going to find a way to turn a sudden glut of interest into yet another crypto scam opportunity.
So, if you're a Metallica fan seeking out information on 72 Streams, please stick to the official channels.