Building a channel is never easy, and it takes consistent effort to reach the top. Over the past year, YouTube channels have been getting hacked more frequently. Large Creators like Meghan Rienks, Corridor Crew, McCreamy, and even Linus Tech Tips almost lost their channels forever. Below are some of the biggest creators who nearly lost all their years of hard work.
1. Meghan Rienks
In October 2019, YouTuber Meghan Rienks encountered a career-threatening breech to her channel with over 2 million followers. While watching YouTube on her TV, she was logged out of her YouTube account from another location. After some investigation into her emails and other YouTube accounts, she came to the conclusion that she was hacked.
From Bad to Worse
She tried to kick the hacker off her accounts and thought she had succeeded, but there was more trouble on the way. Her channel was restricted from showing up in a search. Her channel wasn’t visible to anyone but herself, meaning she couldn’t gain any views or revenue from it. She reached out to her YouTube rep, but even then, it took a few weeks to resolve the matter.
2. McCreamy
McCreamy is a Fortnite Gaming channel that got hacked last year. In May 2022, McCreamy went to bed just like any other day, only to get numerous notifications on his phone which prompted him to get up and check his computer. He was shocked to find out that he had been logged out of his account. The hackers began to post a fake live stream promoting a crypto scam to his viewers. McCreamy tried to fix the problem through YouTube and was infuriated when it didn't work.
Turning to Crowd-Sourcing for Help
He utilized Twitter to reach out to YouTube support. Fellow content creators shared his tweet, and YouTube responded after 4 hours, extending their assistance. Despite this, he faced numerous issues, as YouTube's responses were not prompt and lacked reassurance. Fortunately, his channel was restored to its normal functionality after 72 hours.
3. Corridor Crew
Corridor Crew is a VFX Entertainment channel that also experienced a devastating hack on their channel with over 6 million subscribers. The breach occurred when one of their staff members had their phone hacked, resulting in the theft of their login credentials. The hacker silently gained access to their channel through this employee and proceeded to cause chaos by live-streaming a deceptive investment promotion. Fortunately, they detected the situation promptly and reached out to YouTube support. After five days, they successfully regained control of their channel.
4. LinusTechTips
This breach came as a major surprise to the whole YouTube community. It's unbelievable that the largest technological powerhouse on YouTube encountered hacking incidents on two of its channels. The timing was somewhat coincidental, given that LTT had recently reached out on Twitter, asking people to share their most notable failures just the day prior. Linus was in bed at night when he received the news that his channel had been hacked.
Nobody is Immune
He quickly sprung up and started trying to secure their channels. The channels had been hacked to showcase yet again the common Crypto scam Livestream targeted at unsuspecting viewers after hours of tussling with Google account management and YouTube support. They finally got their channels back and posted a video the very next day detailing the entire situation.
5. Scaretheater
Scaretheater is an internet mystery YouTube channel with a million subscribers. On June 16, 2022, Scaretheater was hacked. He had his channel changed to something called “Micro Strategy”. It was a Bitcoin scam; the hackers ran a live stream with fake recordings of popular financial advisers urging people to invest in the scam.
Saved by his Fans
Luckily Scaretheater fans noticed that the live-stream was fraudulent, and they started mass reporting the channel. This brought it to the attention of YouTube, who terminated the channel shortly after. This was to prevent the hackers from scamming unsuspecting fans. Luckily a few hours later, Scaretheater’s channel was reinstated and back to normal.
6. VeVo
In 2018, Vevo's official YouTube channel was hacked by a group called Kuroi'sh. The hackers deleted most of the videos from the channel, which is known for hosting music videos from popular artists such as Taylor Swift, Drake, and Ariana Grande. In place of the deleted videos, the hackers posted their own video titled “Free Palestine.” Vevo is a joint venture between Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and Abu Dhabi Media.
No Individuals were Hacked
The company was founded in 2009 as a way for record labels to distribute their music videos on YouTube. The Vevo hack was a significant incident, as it affected a major company with a wide audience. Following the hack, Vevo issued a statement confirming the incident and assuring users that they were working to resolve the issue. It's worth noting that the incident did not affect the personal accounts of any individual users, but it did demonstrate the vulnerability of even large corporations to online security breaches.
7. Shane Dawson
Shane Dawson is a YouTuber with over 20 million subscribers. He's known for his comedic content and has been a YouTuber since 2008. The hack of his accounts in 2019 was a significant incident. The hacker used Shane's accounts to post racist and offensive tweets, causing outrage among his followers and beyond. Shane responded with an apology for the tweets and condemned the actions of the hacker.
The rise in YouTube hacking is a cause for concern among content creators. The unfortunate experiences of Meghan Rienks, VeVo, and others show that no channel is immune. It's a stark reminder to take online security seriously, especially for those who rely on YouTube for their livelihoods.
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