Inside a brand deal scam targeting YouTube creators

Social Media

A plausible-sounding sponsorship offer could mask an attempt to compromise your Google account

07 Oct 2026 • 6 min. read

For a YouTuber, the approach may look like routine business: a personalized sponsorship email from a global brand and a brief negotiation over rates, followed by an invitation to visit a slick collaboration platform. In some cases, however, the sequence can mask a scam that could part social media content creators from their Google accounts.

One such recent campaign impersonates Hollyland, a legitimate manufacturer of wireless transmission and audiovisual equipment. We’ve traced the scheme from the first contact and the negotiations of a supposed partnership through to the login request. We’ve also spotted several variants where fraudsters repackage the campaign using different brand identities and domains.

Here’s how the ploy works and what to watch for.

The emails

As is so often the case, the scheme begins with...

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