Popular cryptocurrency influencers on X (formerly Twitter) and other celebrities are being targeted by scammers to promote some digital assets.
Among the compromised accounts was that of an influencer known by the acronym GCR. The hacker used the influencer’s account to post predictions about the price of the ORDI token. This would have caused a momentary increase in the value of the asset.
The hacker responsible for the attack posted promotional content for the ORDI and Luna 2.0 tokens. This resulted in a temporary increase in the prices of these cryptocurrencies. After the post, ORDI’s price rose from around $40 to $44, but soon returned to its previous value. Meanwhile, the Luna 2.0 token has seen a 274% increase in a short period.
Attacking influencer accounts to promote cryptocurrencies
After the attack, GCR confirmed that its account had suffered a hacker attack. Therefore, he asked his followers to ignore any promotional posts about the cryptocurrency.
Furthermore, he mentioned that he suspects that someone received a bribe to provide their login credentials, resulting in the security breach. GCR reported that it had been warned about this possibility two months ago and that security measures had been reinforced. However, he highlighted that such measures are ineffective if officials accept bribes for administrative access.
The hack caught the attention of several cryptocurrency observers and analysts. Bitcoin developer and watcher Udi Wertheimer suggested the attack could be part of a broader scam targeting celebrities and cryptocurrency influencers.
According to the developer, there is a growing trend of celebrities promoting memecoins. Thus, he recommended caution.
Colin Wu, a popular Chinese cryptocurrency blogger, noted that the hacker established positions on OKX and Binance exchanges minutes before the attack. Miles Deutscher, another cryptocurrency analyst, criticized the choice of cryptocurrencies promoted by the hacker. He suggested that the attacker could have opted for assets with greater appreciation potential.
Similar cases involving celebrities
GCR’s case was not the only one. That’s because American rapper Rich The Kid posted a link to purchase a new token called RICH. The cryptocurrency is based on Solana’s memecoin creation platform – pump.fun.
The token’s market value reached US$90,000 in the first two hours of launch. However, he later deleted the post but did not confirm a possible hack.
At the same time, Caitlyn Jenner’s X account promoted a new memecoin called JENNER on the same platform. The cryptocurrency has accumulated a market cap of $4.7 million since launch. Many believed that the promotion could be the result of a hack.
Jenner, however, continued to promote the cryptocurrency, challenging followers to ignore influencers who advise against purchasing JENNER.
Source: https://www.criptofacil.com/golpistas-visam-contas-de-influencers-cripto-no-x-para-promover-criptomoedas/
