Elon Musk offers free premium features on X, including crypto cheats.

Elon Musk doesn't charge influencer accounts on X for certain premium features as long as you meet certain conditions. However, these conditions appear to be applicable to accounts involved in crypto scams as well.

On March 28, Musk announced that accounts with 2,500 verified subscribers would no longer need to pay for “Premium” features as followers. Additionally, accounts with over 5,000 followers get free access to “Premium+”.

X offers paid subscriptions to three premium services – Basic, Premium and Premium+ – adding more features for content creators across X platforms.

But the ability to buy verification on Twitter allows fraudsters and bad actors to easily impersonate influential people and trick their followers into various scams.

Before Elon Musk took over, he rolled out a split authentication model on X, formerly known as “Twitter Blue,” to combat scammers and spammers who thrived on the platform.

Regardless, the crypto community argues that X's premium features continue to help fraudsters reach victims more effectively.

While some members of the community applauded Mook's decision to waive popular account verification fees, skeptics pointed to potential loopholes due to a lack of information about the platform's internal workings to ensure eligibility.

Renowned game developer Tyler Glyel argues:

“Haha so a bot farm can buy 2500 bills and then use them to verify infinite bills (or do they all stop paying one after the other?).”

A few users — aware of the costs — echoed Glyel's comments, speculating that the new feature could encourage large groups of fraudsters to join hands and give accounts to various cyberattacks.

Some smaller accounts on X believe Musk's recent move will encourage the “wealthy,” while others urge other verified users to game the system to claim free premium services.

Related: X launches a dedicated payment account, crypto community speculates

X is well aware of the concerns surrounding verified scam accounts, as the platform has already reduced prices for verified organizations on its social media platform in January 2024.

The move aims to prevent a number of “golden check” accounts dedicated to pushing crypto scams.

A recent CloudSEK report claims that “malicious campaigns targeting Twitter Gold accounts are on the rise” targeting X users with work and crypto scams.

However, many speculate that the price cut may be an attempt to gain more paying subscribers.

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