Jeffree Star's Coronavirus Giveaway On Twitter Unexpectedly Allowed Scammers To Target Unsuspecting Victims

Last month, makeup mogul Jeffree Star revealed on Twitter that he would be giving $30K away to one person amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Jeffree Star Cosmetics owner asked people to retweet his post, which can be seen below, as a way to enter the giveaway. This prompted countless people to partake in the event. However, doing so unknowingly made many who attempted to win the money vulnerable to con artists.

I’m going to give away $30,000 to 1 random person who retweets this tweet AND follows Twitter Philanthropist @Pulte and Me!! (If you don’t follow us, we can’t DM you the money) Will show proof! Much love
— Jeffree Star (@JeffreeStar) March 22, 2020

According to Quartz, a teenager in Florida, whose family has faced financial difficulties due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, entered.

READ: Jeffree Star Cosmetics Product Contains Unexpected Message If You Know Where To Look

Shortly after sharing Star's tweet they reportedly received a direct message from another Twitter user. After asking them if they would like to receive $250, they explained that their goal was to help "those in need or need emergency cash." However, they then asked for a donation of $25 prior to sending the money. After fulfilling the request, they stated that they were then blocked by the unknown Twitter user and never received the $250.

As stated by the outlet, what they experienced is a popular scam technique on Cash App called "cash-flipping." Satnam Narang, a researcher at the cybersecurity company Tenable, explained that con artists have been using the coronavirus outbreak as a way to take advantage of unsuspecting victims.

Furthermore, Narang added that they have also used other methods as a way to obtain money from various people, including creating "fake giveaways in public tweets" and including "#coronavirus" for extra visibility.

Aside from the aforementioned unfortunate situation, Star has been in the news in recent months for other things that are a bit more positive. After the impressive success of his Conspiracy palette and Mini Controversy palette, which he co-created with YouTuber Shane Dawson, the two have seemingly dropped hints about what their next joint project will be. Since then, Star has gone on to release the popular Blood Lust eyeshadow palette and collection.