Scam Alert - Fake Prize Notifications On YouTube Replies

LABELLE, FL. -- A new scam seems to have appeared using YouTube channel comments to tell viewers who made comment they have won a valuable prize.

We discovered this scam when receiving an email notification today that a reply was made to a comment we made on a YouTube video several months ago. 

Reading the reply on the YouTube channel said, "Thank you for being part of the channel You were randomly selected from the comments box.you won(2 DJI MINI 3 PRO DRONE). Inbox the above name to assume your prizeCongratulations "

It appeared to be a reply from the channel owner, but on closer examination the account sending the reply message was "TEXT ME ON TELEGRAM @Pilot_Institute"using the real official channel's logo thus making it look like a reply from the real channel. But, clicking on the "Text Me On Telegram" reply forwarded to a fake channel recently opened with no content.

The scam leads people to go to the telegram app and leave their name, address, and phone number with an apparent fake Telegram account again using the real channel's logo, where they attempt to collect money from you for "shipping charges."

The real Pilot Institute YouTube video where we found these fake comment replies is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0ydRf3e5iM. At least today, until YouTube shuts down the fake TEXT ME ON TELEGRAM account, you can see the fake replies to all the comments alleging literally everyone who posted a comment won a drone.

It is important to point out the Pilot Institute YouTube channel is legitimate and is a victim of the scam as well as the people who posted comments on their channel are likewise victims.  The scammer is the fake account making the replies to commenters. 

Advice: Be very careful when getting messages that you won something where you did not actually enter a contest. A tip off is often misspelling or unusual sentences or unusual links to click to get your "prize" in a scam "prize" notification