Elon Musk

Elon Musk will no longer charge influential accounts on X for certain premium features as long as they meet certain conditions. However, those conditions also appear achievable for accounts involved in cryptocurrency scams.
On March 28, Musk <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1773147956041978257" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">announced</a> that accounts with 2,500 verified subscribers as followers will no longer need to pay for “Premium” features on X. Additionally, accounts with over 5,000 followers will get free access to “Premium+.”
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-03/0480d4b3-f7a0-4ac8-8aed-18e4edf5f9b6.jpeg" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1773147956041978257" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Elon Musk</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
X offers paid subscriptions for three tiers of premium services — Basic, Premium and Premium+ — incrementally unlocking more features for content creators within the X platforms. 
However, the ability to purchase verification on Twitter allows scammers and bad actors to easily impersonate influential people and dupe their followers into various scams.
<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/top-people-in-crypto-and-blockchain-2023/elon-musk-and-crypto-twitter">Elon Musk</a> rolled out the paid verification model on X, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/who-paid-for-twitter-blue-verification-here-s-how-to-find-out">earlier known as “Twitter Blue,”</a> to fight scammers and spammers thriving on the platform before his takeover. 
Regardless, the crypto community argues that the X Premium features&nbsp;<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/scammers-impersonate-worldcoin-twitter-following-token-launch">continue to aid scammers</a> in reaching potential victims more effectively. 
While some community members appreciated Musk’s decision not to charge popular account verification fees, skeptics pointed out possible loopholes, given the lack of information about the platform’s internal mechanism to ensure eligibility. 
Prominent game developer Tyler Glaiel <a href="https://twitter.com/TylerGlaiel/status/1773162139638743314" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">argued</a>:
<blockquote data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 “Haha so a bot farm can buy 2500 accounts and then use those to verify infinite accounts (or have them all follow each other and then stop paying?)”
</blockquote>
Few users — while acknowledging the costs involved — echoed Glaiel’s sentiment in speculating that the new feature could incentivize large groups of scammers to join hands and repurpose accounts for different types of cyberattacks.
Some smaller accounts on X believe that Musk’s recent move incentivizes the “rich,” while others urged fellow verified users to play the system by following each other in order to claim free premium services. 
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/x-payments-speculation-crypto-community">X launches dedicated payments account, crypto community speculates</a>
X is well aware of the concerns around verified scam accounts as, earlier in January 2024, the platform scaled back pricing for verified organizations on the social media platform. 
The move was aimed at countering numerous “gold check” accounts dedicated to pushing crypto scams.
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-03/1d74506b-2814-4828-b4af-ef9f13d8d30a.png" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/verified/status/1742285992713654697" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Verified</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
A recent CloudSEK report highlighted that “malicious campaigns are brooding on a large scale that requires a Twitter Gold account,” targeting X users with job and crypto scams. 
However, many speculated the price drop may have been an attempt to gain more paid subscribers. 
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/seal-911-team-white-hat-forms-fight-crypto-hacks-real-time/">‘SEAL 911’ team of white hats formed to fight crypto hacks in real time</a>

Elon Musk offers users free premium features on X, crypto scammers included

Cointelegraph

Other articles published on Mar 28, 2024

Memecoin Mania Reconkning: FLOKI, BONK, and SHIB Follow the DOGE Price Rally

Decoding Argentina’s Bitcoin frenzy: reality vs rumor

$1.28 Million Lost From Crypto Phishing Attacks in Less Than 2 Hours

Qredo (QRDO) Price Prediction 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030

Ripple vs SEC: Decrypting SEC’s Damage Theory in XRP lawsuit, A Fortunate Turn for Ripple?

1inch launches phase 2.0 of its Community Builders Program

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!