Fraudsters Take $500,000 Through X Account Hacks and Meme Coin Schemes: ZachXBT

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT disclosed on December 24 that more than 15 X accounts have been compromised in a coordinated scam aimed at Solana meme coin investors. The breaches have enabled scammers to pilfer an estimated $500,000.

ZachXBT Reveals Crypto Phishing Operation: How Scammers Acquire Over $500K From X Accounts

ZachXBT indicated that these events, which commenced on November 26, are part of a broader scheme orchestrated by an unidentified hacker or group. More than 15 breaches have been associated with this operation.

The accounts affected include Kick, Cursor, Alex Blania, The Arena, and Brett. The attacker gained access to these accounts by impersonating the X team in a phishing initiative.

2/3 Each of the 15 account takeovers (ATOs) were directly linked by tracing the deployer address for each scam.
The attacker transferred funds back and forth between Solana and Ethereum to obscure the funding source. pic.twitter.com/DMcuh0KjXK

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) December 24, 2024

The phishing emails were crafted to resemble official communications from X. They purported to address fictitious copyright infringement issues, instilling a sense of urgency.

Victims were deceived into visiting a phishing site where they were prompted to reset their two-factor authentication (2FA) or password. After acquiring the credentials, the attacker utilized the compromised accounts to promote meme coin scams.

Once taken over, the accounts were employed to endorse fraudulent Solana-based tokens. Each hacked account disseminated a contract address and urged followers to invest using SOL, misleading unsuspecting victims into transferring funds.

Tracing the deployer address linked to the scams has connected each of the 15 account takeovers (ATOs).

The attacker sought to conceal their funding sources by moving funds between Solana and Ethereum. Despite these attempts, investigators were able to associate the activities with a single threat actor.

To safeguard against such attacks, users are encouraged to refrain from reusing email addresses across different services. Security experts also advise utilizing physical security keys for 2FA on essential accounts whenever feasible.

X Accounts Targeted: Symbiotic, EigenLayer, and Truth Terminal Fall Prey to Hacks

X, previously known as Twitter, has evolved into a center for projects and creators, particularly following Elon Musk’s acquisition, which highlighted free speech and creator monetization.

However, its increasing visibility has also drawn cybercriminals who exploit the platform to disseminate phishing links and target creators with scams.

On December 8, the Cardano Foundation’s X account was compromised. The attacker promoted a fraudulent “ADAsol” token and falsely asserted that the Foundation would cease supporting ADA.

The scam generated $500,000 in trading volume before the token’s value collapsed by 99%.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson confirmed the breach while cautioning about the rising threat to social media accounts.

This incident is among numerous recent hacks targeting X accounts.

In October, Symbiotic’s X account was breached, and the attacker shared phishing links disguised as airdrop checklists, resulting in stolen tokens. EigenLayer, another restaking protocol, experienced a similar hack involving a fake airdrop campaign.

On October 29, Truth Terminal AI founder Andy Ayrey’s account was hijacked to promote counterfeit meme coins, yielding $1.5 million in profits for the hacker.

In November, rapper Wiz Khalifa’s X account was exploited to promote a fraudulent meme coin named WIZ. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT connected this hacker to Ayrey’s account compromise.

These cyberattacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, particularly on X, which targets its users with urgency-driven scams and phishing tactics.

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