The weirdest scammers you’ve never heard of

Do you find yourself scrolling mindlessly through YouTube Shorts on occasion? It’s nothing to be ashamed of; I do too. If you do, though, you’ve likely stumbled across any number of automatically-recommended livestreams. How many times have you seen one of a thousand interchangeable broccoli-haired zoomers just about to call 911 for no reason or impale their finger or whatever else, just as soon as someone sends them a bit of money? If the answer is ‘none’, count yourself lucky, because I absolutely cannot say the same.

These loud, energetic livestreams are, of course, purpose-engineered to snatch the attention and money of the many children on YouTube. It’s scummy just on its face, but the scam goes way deeper — just for starters, these streams aren’t even live. There’s an entire interconnected network of “creators“ using prerecorded clips and false senses of urgency to solicit donations from children who don’t know any better.

Sure, if you’re over sixteen you probably aren’t at risk of falling for this, but that unfortunately doesn’t apply to everyone. The best way to push back against behavior like this is to stay informed — and maybe report the channels involved while you’re at it.