YouTube is warning creators about a new phishing scam that attempts to lure victims using an AI-generated video of its CEO Neal Mohan. The fake video has been shared privately with users and claims YouTube is making changes to its monetization policy in an attempt to steal their credentials, according to an announcement on Tuesday.
“YouTube and its employees will never attempt to contact you or share information through a private video,” YouTube says. “If a video is shared privately with you claiming to be from YouTube, the video is a phishing scam.”
In recent weeks, there have been reports floating around Reddit about scams similar to the one described by YouTube. One user said they received an email saying an account called “Notification for YouTube Creators” shared a private video with them and instructed them to download a malicious file. Another noted they received a private video from “Channel for Creators,” which asked them to agree to a new monetization policy on a fake DocuSign site. In both of these cases, the email came from no-reply@youtube.com.
“Many phishers actively target Creators by trying to find ways to impersonate YouTube by exploiting in-platform features to link to malicious content,” YouTube adds. This kind of scam isn’t completely new, as one Reddit user spotted a deepfake video of Mohan going around in 2023. If you receive one of these fake videos, you can report it on YouTube’s website.
