Recent events in the crypto space highlight that scammers continue to find new ways to deceive users by hacking the accounts of famous personalities to promote fake tokens.
Hacking Celebrity Accounts
Recent reports indicate that Instagram accounts belonging to popular musicians like Adele, Tyla, Future, and the late Michael Jackson were hacked to promote an unrelated Solana meme token. The hackers used Instagram to share posts featuring an AI-generated image of Future holding an oversized coin inscribed with 'FREEBANDZ'. This brand is connected to the rapper, representing his record label and clothing line.
Fake Solana Token and Its Impact
The FREEBANDZ token, associated with the scammers, was launched on Pump.fun, where it briefly reached a market capitalization of approximately $900,000 before dropping nearly 98% to $20,000. Following its rise, the token creator dumped more than 700 million tokens, resulting in a significant price crash.
Rise of Fraud in Crypto Space
Fraud on social media through hacking accounts to promote meme tokens has become common. Earlier this year, the UFC Instagram account was also hacked to promote a fake token. Scammers systematically target high-profile accounts, aiming to increase trust in their schemes and extract profits.
These events underscore the growing threat of fraud in the crypto space, and users should remain particularly cautious about the sources of information they trust.
