This story is something I still have trouble talking about—partly because of the financial damage, but mostly because I didn’t see it coming. It all began with a YouTube video that featured what appeared to be a live AMA with Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano. He was “announcing” a new ADA airdrop event, celebrating the Cardano ecosystem and encouraging community participation.

The video was extremely well-produced. It looked like it was being streamed live, had thousands of viewers, and included real interview clips and Q&A overlays. In the description was a link to the airdrop page, which claimed you could receive a bonus if you sent between 100–5,000 ADA to a listed wallet address.

I wasn’t a huge ADA holder, but I had about 1,000 ADA sitting in my Yoroi wallet that I hadn’t touched in a while. The event seemed time-sensitive, and it looked like many others were participating. I sent the ADA to the address listed on the page.

As you might have guessed by now, the ADA never came back. I waited, refreshed, re-read the instructions—nothing. I then visited the real Cardano Twitter page and saw a pinned tweet: “Beware of fake airdrops. We are NOT running any giveaways. Don’t send your funds to anyone.”

My stomach dropped. That video? It was a deepfake. The AMA clips were stitched together from old interviews. The “live viewers” were bots. The website was a perfect copy of a legitimate Cardano page, but the domain was slightly misspelled. I had been completely fooled.

Losing the money was bad, but it was the sophistication of the scam that really shook me. These aren’t just basic phishing attempts anymore—they’re advanced, multi-platform scams that blend social engineering, AI, and stolen branding to create trust.

If you’re reading this, remember: no real crypto project will ever ask you to send funds to receive more. Always be skeptical of giveaways, double-check domains, and confirm events through official sources only. If something feels rushed or urgent, it’s usually because scammers want you to act before you think.