MSI warns of scammers targeting tech YouTubers

MSI recently issued a warning to all customers and fans. In a message dubbed “Important Announcement,” the major PC manufacturer reported scammers targeting tech YouTubers with fake product partnership offers.

MSI has recreated such an email from a scammer to let fans know what the scam looks like. It is addressed to a YouTuber who publishes tech content. “Do you know MSI, the leading electronics manufacturer?” read the first line of the scam email. This was followed by promising a partnership and providing products “for free so you can write a review.”

Fraud exposed via email

The email looks harmless, but it is actually a scam. It came from a user calling himself Martinio, using an email address hosted by voiny.cz. Luckily, one recipient of the mail had probably visited this Czech web portal and seen that it is a favorite place for scammers and swindlers to set up an email address. Because of this, he probably didn’t fall for the bait and contacted MSI, who in turn have now issued this alert to protect all other customers.

MSI says such an email is just the tip of the iceberg and that the recent emergence of unauthorized emails to content creators and valued followers has caught their attention. MSI points out in the message that several YouTubers have also contacted MSI to verify that this email is genuine.

MSI warns of scammers

The most important thing to look for in such emails, according to the company, is that MSI makes all genuine offers through an email address ending in @msi.com. MSI urges anyone who has received a similar email to delete it immediately, not to reply, and under no circumstances to click on the links it contains.

At the moment it’s unclear whether the emails contain any malicious links or if MSI has removed them from the screenshot, but the scammer is still spinning a web of deception before trying to get banking details or similar from the targeted YouTubers. As always, be careful because scammers are getting smarter and smarter. Therefore, if in doubt, always ask the manufacturer himself and never click on links.

In other recent MSI and scammer news, it was noted that there were a number of websites with similar-sounding/looking domains that were offering downloads of the MSI Afterburner utility, which were tainted with malware. There was a similar scam two years ago.

Header: MSI