Animoca Brands responded to Yat Siu account hack, clarifying that the token launch on Solana was orchestrated by the hacker.
The X account of Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu was compromised to promote fraudulent tokens launched on Solana’s Pump.fun platform. The hacker used the account to falsely announce the launch of a token, claiming it was associated with Animoca.
ZachXBT, a blockchain investigator, suggested that Yat Siu might have fallen victim to the same phishing scam targeting crypto-focused accounts. In an X post, ZachXBT revealed that these bad actors have stolen $500,000 over the past month by compromising over 15 X accounts.
The bad actors reportedly lured victims using phishing emails impersonating the X team. These emails used urgency, such as false claims of copyright infringement, to trick users into visiting malicious sites and resetting their account credentials.
3/3 An example of a phishing email received by X users can be seen below and the emails all follow the same script:
>send fake copyright infringement email
>create a sense of urgency
>trick user into visiting phishing site and resetting 2FA/passwordMakes sure to limit email… pic.twitter.com/j1SWMTlWW3
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) December 24, 2024
Similar incidents occurred on November 26, targeting the X account of RuneMine, a Bitcoin infrastructure service provider, and on December 24, when the crypto trading video streaming site Kick was attacked, preceding this latest breach involving Siu.
The fake MOCA token reached a market cap of $36,700 but rapidly dropped to $7,700 and is now valued at $5,991, with only 33 holders according to Birdeye.
Animoca Brands Responds Swiftly to Account Breach
Animoca Brands acknowledged the compromise of Yat Siu’s X account and clarified that the company has not launched any official tokens or NFTs. They urged users to avoid engaging with the account and warned that the hacker was behind the fraudulent token.
‼️🚨 Unfortunately @ysiu social media account has been compromised. There is no official token or NFT launch from Animoca Brands. The token launch on Solana as claimed in a post was made by the hacker. Please DO NOT engage with the account and stay vigilant.
We will provide an…
— Animoca Brands (@animocabrands) December 26, 2024
Animoca’s swift response to the breach was widely praised. NF3 Chip commended the company for its quick actions, emphasizing the importance of vigilance and security in the crypto space.
Growing Cybercrime Threat in the Crypto Space
As the cryptocurrency sector grows, so does the sophistication of cybercrime targeting users and organizations within it. Bad actors often exploit X accounts to target creators and celebrities with phishing scams. On December 8, the X account of the Cardano Foundation was hacked to promote a fake token “ADAsol”. The scam generated $500,000 in trading volume before the token’s value dropped by 99%. Similarly, Symbiotic’s X account was hacked in October, with phishing links disguised as airdrop checklists causing users to lose their tokens.
Even high-profile individuals in the tech space are not immune. On October 29, the X account of Truth Terminal AI founder Andy Ayrey was hacked to promote fake tokens. The scam netted the hacker $1.5 million.
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