Photo: Twitter screenshot via TechCrunch.com
Elon Musk is known to say a lot of strange things on Twitter, but he’s not giving away “free” money – least of all cryptocurrency.
The Tesla CEO is just one of the high-profile targets in what has been dubbed the largest security breach on Twitter – or on any other major social media platform. An unknown third-party hijacked his account, along with several others, many of them verified and counting millions of followers, to run a very common scam.
On July 15, Elon apparently tweeted that he was “feeling generous” so, as a means to help up with efforts to contain the ongoing health crisis, he was giving back to the community. Because he didn’t want to do it alone, the message urged others to donate Bitcoin – and he would double the amount.
The donation wasn’t really a donation, and this should have been the first warning signal. The tweet basically asked people to send money to a Bitcoin wallet, with the promise that they would get back double the amount. Or, as some other similar messages went to the trouble to explain, send $1,000 in Bitcoin, get $2,000 back.
TechCrunch notes that the scam initially seemed to target only cryptocurrency-focused accounts, like @bitcoin, @coindesk, @coinbase and @ripple, but it then spread to include many high-profile figures. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates were the entrepreneurs targeted, while celebrities included Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Wiz Khalifa and YouTuber MrBeast. Politicians Barack Obama, Mike Bloomberg and Joe Biden’s accounts were also hijacked.
All tweets stayed online for mere minutes, but it was enough time for reports that people were already sending money to the Bitcoin wallet mentioned in it. Twitter swiftly took down the hijacked messages and blocked owners from accessing their accounts for some time. The incident is now under investigation, with CEO Jack Dorsey promising updates every step of the way.
On July 15, Elon apparently tweeted that he was “feeling generous” so, as a means to help up with efforts to contain the ongoing health crisis, he was giving back to the community. Because he didn’t want to do it alone, the message urged others to donate Bitcoin – and he would double the amount.
The donation wasn’t really a donation, and this should have been the first warning signal. The tweet basically asked people to send money to a Bitcoin wallet, with the promise that they would get back double the amount. Or, as some other similar messages went to the trouble to explain, send $1,000 in Bitcoin, get $2,000 back.
TechCrunch notes that the scam initially seemed to target only cryptocurrency-focused accounts, like @bitcoin, @coindesk, @coinbase and @ripple, but it then spread to include many high-profile figures. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates were the entrepreneurs targeted, while celebrities included Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Wiz Khalifa and YouTuber MrBeast. Politicians Barack Obama, Mike Bloomberg and Joe Biden’s accounts were also hijacked.
All tweets stayed online for mere minutes, but it was enough time for reports that people were already sending money to the Bitcoin wallet mentioned in it. Twitter swiftly took down the hijacked messages and blocked owners from accessing their accounts for some time. The incident is now under investigation, with CEO Jack Dorsey promising updates every step of the way.
An update https://t.co/dLfvfbhwma https://t.co/960iThzCys
— jack (@jack) July 16, 2020
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