Hackers hijack celebrity Instagrams to push fake crypto

Scammers have continued to work over time in the crypto space, trying to take advantage of the recent market boom to make illicit funds. According to a new update, Instagram accounts belonging to several celebrities have been hijacked to promote a crypto scam token.

Reports claim that Instagram accounts owned and managed by popular musicians like Adele, Tyla, Future, and the late Michael Jackson were hacked to promote an unaffiliated Solana meme coin. The hacker used the Instagram to share now-deleted posts of an AI-created image of Future holding an oversized coin with the inscription “FREEBANDZ.” The brand shares a connection to the rapper, representing his record label and clothing line. Coincidentally, FREEBANDZ is also the name of the Solana meme coin promoted by the scammers.

Fake Solana coin hits $900K before 98% crash

Future’s account is no longer active on Instagram, with the popular music artist first deleting all his posts on the platform earlier this year. While his account was one of those that was breached to promote the fake token, users have noted that it has now been fully deleted. In addition, records show that the cryptocurrency does not appear to have any links or connections to Future or any of his brands.

According to records, the Solana token was launched on Pump.fun, with the meme coin briefly rising to hit an all-time high market cap of about $900,000 before dropping by nearly 98% to $20,000. After the token’s rise, the creator, with a Solana address ending in “zcmPHn”, dumped more than 700 million tokens or about 70% of the total supply on a single transaction. That single act sent the price of the token crashing.

The scammer, who shares a connection to whoever hacked the Instagram account of the celebrities, was able to walk away with more than 250 SOL, which is worth more than $49,000 in today’s prices. While the posts have now been deleted, none of the celebrities or accounts involved in the hack have released public statements on any social media acknowledging the breach of their account.

Promotion of fake tokens is on the rise

Hacking popular social media accounts to promote meme coins and other crypto scams is not new, with such incidents now rampant more than before in the crypto market. Earlier this year, the official UFC Instagram account was hacked by scammers, leading to losses for crypto users.

The Instagram account was used to promote a fraudulent token, with the hackers using a pump-and-dump technique to cart away with the victims’ funds. The unauthorized Solana meme coin first soared to $11 million worth of market cap, before the scammers sold 40% of their supply, taking away profits of $1.4 million in the process. After the sale, the token crashed by 97%, leaving several UFC fans looking to take advantage of the token in losses.

“UFC fans have been waiting, and the moment is here. Get ready to own the legacy. Precision. Strength. ALL in one coin. #UFC #UnleashTheFight,” the post read. The scammers followed it with the Solana token contract address. The post sent the UFC Coin surging by 44,367% in just 41 minutes, with users mentioning that they thought it was real because it came around at a time after Trump launched his real token.

Outside the official UFC account, the creator of the “Chill Guy” character had his account stolen numerous times after a Solana meme coin based on the viral TikTok trend blew up, reaching $650 million in market cap. Former US President Barack Obama and Tesla billionaire CEO Elon Musk have also had their account hacked and used to promote fake crypto schemes. These scammers usually seek high-profile accounts to boost the confidence of the public, increase the legitimacy of the token, pump it, before selling and crashing the price.

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