Drake, the world-famous male rapper, has just had his X account (formerly Twitter) hacked to advertise a fake Meme Coin.
The scam post, which has now been deleted, highlights a rise in scams targeting prominent accounts on the platform.
Drake’s Hacked Account Highlights Rise in Cryptocurrency Scams on X
On December 14, blockchain investigator ZachXBT discovered the breach, disclose that Drake’s X account was used to promote a fraudulent Meme Coin under the name “Anita.”
The attackers pretended that the coin was developed in partnership with Stake, the gambling company with which Drake has publicly partnered since 2022. The post included a smart contract address and promotional materials, creating a sense of credibility for the scam.
Drake’s interest in Cryptocurrencies may have made the hoax more convincing. However, the fraudulent content has been removed and the account associated with Meme Coin has been suspended.
Market observers say this incident highlights the worrying rise in Cryptocurrency scams on X. Over the past month, there have been many prominent accounts belonging to organizations such as the Cardano Foundation exploit. These incidents are often aimed at creating false legitimacy for fraudulent tokens or spoofing airdrop programs.
Furthermore, blockchain security firm Scam Sniffer points out that fake Cryptocurrency-related accounts on X have increased to more than 300 per day, up from 160 in November. The company notes that these scammers often impersonate influencers to lure users into joining scam Telegram groups.
Upon entering the group, victims are asked to verify their identity with a bot called OfficialSafeguardBot. This bot uses social engineering tricks to create a sense of urgency and trick users into executing harmful commands.
During the verification process, the bot secretly inserts malicious code into the victim’s clipboard. If executed, this code will install malware to access Cryptocurrency wallets and steal sensitive information. According to Scam Sniffer, this type of malware, discovered by VirusTotal, has led to countless confirmed private key thefts.
This trend reflects a new and more dangerous phase of Cryptocurrency scams, combining phishing, malware deployment and social engineering. Users are advised to be vigilant and avoid participating in suspicious Cryptocurrency investment offers or untrustworthy accounts.