Online scams continue to evolve and target internet users through deceptive tactics and impersonation of celebrities or brands. One recent widespread scam is the “Beastgiveaway.com” website fraudulently claiming affiliation with popular YouTuber MrBeast to manipulate victims. This article will examine how this scam operates, how to identify it, and steps to take to avoid falling prey.
Beastgiveaway.com falsely presents itself as a website affiliated with MrBeast, the YouTube personality known for expensive stunts and charity work. The scam website claims users can obtain free gift cards to major retailers supposedly funded by MrBeast by participating in an online giveaway.
In reality, Beastgiveaway.com has no association with MrBeast himself. The website is a phishing scam aimed at deceiving victims into providing personal details and completing dubious actions that ultimately only benefit the scammers behind the site. No free gift cards are ever truly awarded.
How Does the Beastgiveaway.com Scam Work?
The Beastgiveaway.com website employs various deceitful techniques to scam and take advantage of victims. Firstly, the site falsely claims affiliation with the popular YouTuber MrBeast. The scam website uses MrBeast’s name, image, brand logos, and likeness all over the site without his permission. This is done to make the site appear credible to MrBeast’s fans and trick them into believing the scam giveaway is endorsed by the real MrBeast.
The site advertises that users can obtain high-value gift cards totally free to major retailers like Xbox, Roblox, PlayStation, Amazon, and more. The scam claims these gift cards, worth hundreds of dollars each, are being given away directly through MrBeast to fans who participate. These outrageously enticing rewards are dangled to tempt victims into engaging with the fraudulent site.
To supposedly claim the offered gift cards, users are prompted to provide personal details like their name, email address, phone number, home address, birthday, and more. Victims are misled into believing this information is needed to deliver the promised rewards. In reality, these details are harvested by the scammers to sell off to criminal entities or use for identity theft purposes.
Additionally, the site requires users to complete various bonus “tasks” to finalize the reward redemption process. These activities involve filling surveys, downloading unknown third-party applications, watching videos, subscribing to sketchy services, clicking links, or other dubious actions. The tasks aim to generate illicit ad revenue, sign-ups, app installs, and traffic for the scammers. Some downloaded apps may even contain dangerous malware aimed at infecting the users’ devices.
By leveraging MrBeast’s brand, promising free gift cards, gathering personal information, and making users complete questionable bonus activities – all under false pretenses – the Beastgiveaway.com website seeks to take advantage of innocent victims and profit at their expense through fraudulent means.
How to Identify and Avoid sites like Beastgiveaway.com
While sophisticated, these tips can help users identify and steer clear of the Beastgiveaway.com phishing scam:
No verified affiliation – Check that giveaways are officially endorsed. MrBeast has not endorsed any gift card giveaways.
Suspicious domain – Domain name “beastgiveaway.com” aims to sound legit but is unconnected to MrBeast’s real brand.
Too-good-to-be-true offers – Legitimate giveaways don’t offer such hugely valuable gifts for free.
Requests for personal information – No legitimate giveaways require sensitive personal details upfront before distributing prizes.
Pressuring urgency – Scammers use countdown timers or other urgency tactics to short-circuit judgment.
Mandatory subscriptions and downloads – Don’t download anything or subscribe to anything mandatory to get a ‘prize.’
Poor spelling and grammar – Legitimate businesses have proper spelling and grammar.
No secure connection – Check site has HTTPS protocol and verified SSL certificate. Unsecured means scam.
Reviews and comments – Fake reviews and comments often used on scam sites to appear legitimate.
Avoid entering any personal details, downloading software, clicking links, or buying into too-good-to-be-true offers. If something seems suspicious, trust your instincts and steer clear.
What to Do if You Suspect You Are a Victim
If you suspect you have been victimized by the Beastgiveaway.com scam, here are important steps to take:
Contact bank or credit card companies – If you made any payments or purchases report unauthorized charges. Cancel any cards used on the site.
Run anti-virus software – Download and run Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free to check for any malware that may have infected your devices.
Change account passwords – Change passwords on any online accounts using the same credentials entered on the scam site.
Freeze credit – Consider freezing credit reports to block scammers from opening unauthorized accounts.
Monitor accounts – Review bank statements regularly for signs of fraudulent activity on accounts.
Report scam site – File an online scam complaint with the FTC on the Beastgiveaway.com website.
Spread awareness – Report on social media and tell friends and family to avoid this prominent scam.
Is Your Device Infected? Scan for Malware
If your computer or phone is slow, showing unwanted pop-ups, or acting strangely, malware could be the cause. Running a scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free is one of the most reliable ways to detect and remove harmful software. The free version can identify and clean common infections such as adware, browser hijackers, trojans, and other unwanted programs.
Malwarebytes works on Windows, Mac, and Android devices. Choose your operating system below and follow the steps to scan your device and remove any malware that might be slowing it down.
Malwarebytes for WindowsMalwarebytes for MacMalwarebytes for Android
Run a Malware Scan with Malwarebytes for Windows
Malwarebytes stands out as one of the leading and widely-used anti-malware solutions for Windows, and for good reason. It effectively eradicates various types of malware that other programs often overlook, all at no cost to you. When it comes to disinfecting an infected device, Malwarebytes has consistently been a free and indispensable tool in the battle against malware. We highly recommend it for maintaining a clean and secure system.
Download Malwarebytes
Download the latest version of Malwarebytes for Windows using the official link below. Malwarebytes will scan your computer and remove adware, browser hijackers, and other malicious software for free.
(The above link will open a new page from where you can download Malwarebytes)
Install Malwarebytes
After the download is complete, locate the MBSetup file, typically found in your Downloads folder. Double-click on the MBSetup file to begin the installation of Malwarebytes on your computer. If a User Account Control pop-up appears, click “Yes” to continue the Malwarebytes installation.
Follow the On-Screen Prompts to Install Malwarebytes
When the Malwarebytes installation begins, the setup wizard will guide you through the process.
You’ll first be prompted to choose the type of computer you’re installing the program on—select either “Personal Computer” or “Work Computer” as appropriate, then click on Next.
Malwarebytes will now begin the installation process on your device.
When the Malwarebytes installation is complete, the program will automatically open to the “Welcome to Malwarebytes” screen.
On the final screen, simply click on the Open Malwarebytes option to start the program.
Enable “Rootkit scanning”.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now start, and you will see the main screen as shown below. To maximize Malwarebytes’ ability to detect malware and unwanted programs, we need to enable rootkit scanning. Click on the “Settings” gear icon located on the left of the screen to access the general settings section.
In the settings menu, enable the “Scan for rootkits” option by clicking the toggle switch until it turns blue.
Now that you have enabled rootkit scanning, click on the “Dashboard” button in the left pane to get back to the main screen.
Perform a Scan with Malwarebytes.
To start a scan, click the Scan button. Malwarebytes will automatically update its antivirus database and begin scanning your computer for malicious programs.
Wait for the Malwarebytes scan to complete.
Malwarebytes will now scan your computer for browser hijackers and other malicious programs. This process can take a few minutes, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check the status of the scan to see when it is finished.
Quarantine detected malware
Once the Malwarebytes scan is complete, it will display a list of detected malware, adware, and potentially unwanted programs. To effectively remove these threats, click the “Quarantine” button.
Malwarebytes will now delete all of the files and registry keys and add them to the program’s quarantine.
Restart your computer.
When removing files, Malwarebytes may require a reboot to fully eliminate some threats. If you see a message indicating that a reboot is needed, please allow it. Once your computer has restarted and you are logged back in, you can continue with the remaining steps.
Once the scan completes, remove all detected threats. Your Windows computer should now be clean and running smoothly again, free of trojans, adware, and other malware.
If your current antivirus allowed this malicious program on your computer, you may want to consider purchasing Malwarebytes Premium to protect against these types of threats in the future. If you are still having problems with your computer after completing these instructions, then please follow one of the steps:
Malwarebytes for Mac is an on-demand scanner that can destroy many types of malware that other software tends to miss without costing you absolutely anything. When it comes to cleaning up an infected device, Malwarebytes has always been free, and we recommend it as an essential tool in the fight against malware.
Download Malwarebytes for Mac.
You can download Malwarebytes for Mac by clicking the link below.
When Malwarebytes has finished downloading, double-click on the setup file to install Malwarebytes on your computer. In most cases, downloaded files are saved to the Downloads folder.
Follow the on-screen prompts to install Malwarebytes.
When the Malwarebytes installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes for Mac Installer which will guide you through the installation process. Click “Continue“, then keep following the prompts to continue with the installation process.
When your Malwarebytes installation completes, the program opens to the Welcome to Malwarebytes screen. Click the “Get started” button.
Select “Personal Computer” or “Work Computer”.
The Malwarebytes Welcome screen will first ask you what type of computer are you installing this program, click either Personal Computer or Work Computer.
Click on “Scan”.
To scan your computer with Malwarebytes, click on the “Scan” button. Malwarebytes for Mac will automatically update the antivirus database and start scanning your computer for malware.
Wait for the Malwarebytes scan to complete.
Malwarebytes will scan your computer for adware, browser hijackers, and other malicious programs. This process can take a few minutes, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan to see when it is finished.
Click on “Quarantine”.
When the scan has been completed, you will be presented with a screen showing the malware infections that Malwarebytes has detected. To remove the malware that Malwarebytes has found, click on the “Quarantine” button.
Restart computer.
Malwarebytes will now remove all the malicious files that it has found. To complete the malware removal process, Malwarebytes may ask you to restart your computer.
After scanning, delete any detected threats. Your Mac should now be free from adware, unwanted extensions, and other potentially harmful software.
If your current antivirus allowed a malicious program on your computer, you might want to consider purchasing the full-featured version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to protect against these types of threats in the future. If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove a malicious program from your computer, please ask for help in our Mac Malware Removal Help & Support forum.
Run a Malware Scan with Malwarebytes for Android
Malwarebytes for Android automatically detects and removes dangerous threats like malware and ransomware so you don’t have to worry about your most-used device being compromised. Aggressive detection of adware and potentially unwanted programs keeps your Android phone or tablet running smooth.
Download Malwarebytes for Android.
You can download Malwarebytes for Android by clicking the link below.
In the Google Play Store, tap “Install” to install Malwarebytes for Android on your device.
When the installation process has finished, tap “Open” to begin using Malwarebytes for Android. You can also open Malwarebytes by tapping on its icon in your phone menu or home screen.
Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the setup process
When Malwarebytes will open, you will see the Malwarebytes Setup Wizard which will guide you through a series of permissions and other setup options. This is the first of two screens that explain the difference between the Premium and Free versions. Swipe this screen to continue. Tap on “Got it” to proceed to the next step. Malwarebytes for Android will now ask for a set of permissions that are required to scan your device and protect it from malware. Tap on “Give permission” to continue. Tap on “Allow” to permit Malwarebytes to access the files on your phone.
Update database and run a scan with Malwarebytes for Android
You will now be prompted to update the Malwarebytes database and run a full system scan.
Click on “Update database” to update the Malwarebytes for Android definitions to the latest version, then click on “Run full scan” to perform a system scan.
Wait for the Malwarebytes scan to complete.
Malwarebytes will now start scanning your phone for adware and other malicious apps. This process can take a few minutes, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan to see when it is finished.
Click on “Remove Selected”.
When the scan has been completed, you will be presented with a screen showing the malware infections that Malwarebytes for Android has detected. To remove the malicious apps that Malwarebytes has found, tap on the “Remove Selected” button.
Restart your phone.
Malwarebytes for Android will now remove all the malicious apps that it has found. To complete the malware removal process, Malwarebytes may ask you to restart your device.
When the scan is finished, remove all detected threats. Your Android phone should now be free of malicious apps, adware, and unwanted browser redirects.
If your current antivirus allowed a malicious app on your phone, you may want to consider purchasing the full-featured version of Malwarebytes to protect against these types of threats in the future. If you are still having problems with your phone after completing these instructions, then please follow one of the steps:
Restore your phone to factory settings by going to Settings > General management > Reset > Factory data reset.
After cleaning your device, it’s important to protect it from future infections and annoying pop-ups. We recommend installing an ad blocker such as AdGuard. AdGuard blocks malicious ads, prevents phishing attempts, and stops dangerous redirects, helping you stay safe while browsing online.
Conclusion
Websites like Beastgiveaway.com reveal just how far scammers will go to impersonate real celebrities and brands to take advantage of unsuspecting internet users. However, with proper awareness of common online scams, a skeptical eye towards anything asking for personal details or money, and overall cybersecurity smarts, users can hopefully evade such frauds and the damage they seek to cause.
Stelian leverages over a decade of cybersecurity expertise to lead malware analysis and removal, uncover scams, and educate people. His experience provides insightful analysis and valuable perspective.
