Elon Musk’s X: Free Premium Features with Crypto Scammers

Elon Musk has announced that certain premium features on X will no longer be charged for influential accounts, as long as they meet specific conditions. There are concerns that these conditions can also be fulfilled by accounts involved in cryptocurrency scams. Musk’s decision, which came on March 28, means that accounts with 2,500 verified subscribers as followers will no longer have to pay for “Premium” features on X, and accounts with over 5,000 followers will receive free access to “Premium+.” X offers paid subscriptions for three levels of premium services – Basic, Premium, and Premium+ – which unlock additional features for content creators. The ability to purchase verification on Twitter has enabled scammers to impersonate influential individuals and deceive their followers with various scams.

Before Musk’s takeover, the paid verification model was introduced on X (formerly known as “Twitter Blue”) to combat scammers and spammers on the platform. The crypto community argues that the X Premium features still facilitate scammers in reaching their potential victims more effectively. While some community members appreciate Musk’s decision not to charge for popular account verification fees, skeptics point out possible loopholes due to the lack of information about the platform’s internal mechanisms to ensure eligibility.

Prominent game developer Tyler Glaiel expressed skepticism, suggesting that a bot farm could buy 2,500 accounts and use them to verify infinite accounts or have them all follow each other and then stop paying. Some users, while acknowledging the costs involved, share Glaiel’s concerns and speculate that the new feature could incentivize large groups of scammers to collaborate and repurpose accounts for different types of cyberattacks. Smaller accounts on X believe that Musk’s recent move benefits the wealthy, while others suggest that verified users should follow each other to take advantage of free premium services.

X is aware of the concerns surrounding verified scam accounts, as they previously reduced pricing for verified organizations in January 2024. This action was taken to counter numerous “gold check” accounts that were dedicated to promoting crypto scams. A recent report by CloudSEK emphasized the presence of malicious campaigns that require a Twitter Gold account, targeting X users with job and crypto scams. There are speculations that the price drop may have been an attempt to attract more paid subscribers.