Scammers have started using the Twitter APIs to their advantage by monitoring tweets that have crypto keywords like 'Trust Wallet' and 'Metamask' in a bid to steal crypto assets from their victims.
With the help of Twitter bots, these scammers target tweets with the keywords, offering to help them solve an issue. Usually, the bots claim to work for the crypto exchange, wallet, or platform that matches the keyword typed in a tweet. For instance, typing out a keyword like 'Metamask' on Twitter will bring up tens of bots claiming to be its customer service page.
They then incorporate a link that takes the user to a website or Google Docs asking them to input their seed phrases. If the crypto holder is naive enough to divulge their seed phrases, the scammers instantly wipe out the crypto in the wallets.
With the help of Twitter APIs that target keywords, these bots can respond to tweets within a few seconds. This Twitter APIs feature was designed to allow brands and individuals to monitor public tweets with some keywords to improve their visibility. For instance, the product seller may use the APIs to monitor if anyone mentioned their product name or brand without tagging them, allowing them to reply immediately.
Scammers realized that this could also be used for nefarious activities. So, as much as you are tempted to input keywords like 'Trust Wallet' and 'Metamask' on Twitter, it is wise not to click any link offered up by the bots. Sometimes, it takes one to a Google Form to inquire about seed phrases and, in other cases, plant malware onto the user's device.