Parents have been warned of YouTube scam ads using the branding of popular Youtuber MrBeast to target viewers.
MrBeast has more than 170 million subscribers on YouTube and regularly holds giveaways with guests if they overcome challenges in his videos.
However, fraudsters have begun copying the YouTubers branding on dodgy adverts in order to convince viewers they are connected to him.
The adverts promise giveaways, including $1,000 dollars, to anyone who follows a link to a phishing website.
In order to ‘claim your reward’ on the website you will be asked to provide pieces of personal information which can be used to scam you in the future.
Another scam advert imitating MrBeast takes victims to a website which downloads malware onto their device and asks for their email address associated with a PayPal account.
Consumer expert Which? has offered advice on how to avoid falling victim to the scams, as well as how you can report the adverts.
They said: “To report scam content on YouTube, select the three dots under a video and tap ‘report’.
“If you’ve downloaded dodgy software to your device, remove it immediately - you should be able to find it in your recent downloads. Next, carry out an antivirus scan.
“If you’ve entered your email address on a dodgy site, change your password straight away.
“There are various free ad blockers you can download to stop ads on YouTube. The video platform also offers YouTube Premium, which provides ad-free viewing for £11.99 a month.
“If you’ve lost money to a scammer, call your bank immediately using the number on the back of your card and report the scam to Action Fraud.”
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