Popular YouTuber and philanthropist Jimmy ‘Mr Beast’ Donaldson has warned his fans of a fake YouTube advert that is scamming people out of tens of thousands of dollars.
Mr Beast has more than 39 million subscribers on his YouTube channel thanks to his YouTube videos that mainly see him handing out money to his friends and strangers if they can complete a series of challenges.
Since the YouTuber is known for his philanthropy, it’s not surprising that fans believe that Mr Beast himself is giving away free cash, but not this time.
He tweeted: “If you see this ad, it’s not me. I’ve been getting tons of tweets about it and it’s a scam. I will ONLY mention giveaways on my verified accounts. If it’s not verified, it’s not me.”
He added: “Beastcards or whoever the hell you are, stop scamming my fans or I will walk into a lawyers office, hand him $100,000 and say figure out some way to sue this crap company. Idk how legal stuff works but I’ll throw every dollar I have at it.”
If you see this ad, it’s not me. I’ve been getting tons of tweets about it and it’s a scam :/
I will ONLY mention giveaways on my verified accounts. If it’s not verified, it’s not me. pic.twitter.com/bPf379ITVG
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) August 10, 2020
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The advert in question makes it look as though the YouTuber is offering $100 PlayStation gift cards out for free, and comes from a user called “Beastcards,” a channel with no verification, description or content.
User @JennyPhoenx on Twitter, in a now-deleted tweet, said that she had been scammed already by this person pretending to be Mr Beast, and had both of her bank cards compromised. She shared a screenshot within the thread which showed a conversation with the scammer who asked for $10,000.
Other users have reported receiving messages on Instagram from “Social media department staff at Mr Beast giveaway 2020,” which reads: “Congratulations, for the people I followed today, you were selected as the winner” and claims to give away thousands of dollars and iPhones if you register using a link.
The fake user can be reported by clicking on the flag in the top right corner when you visit the “BeastCards” channel on YouTube.