- Hackers Took Over McDonald's Instagram Account
- McDonald's Marketing Director's Account Hacked
- Growing Threat of Social Media Hackers
Hackers likely took over McDonald's Instagram account to promote a Solana-based memecoin called GRIMACE. The cyberattack, which briefly duped investors, underscores the growing trend of cryptocurrency scams exploiting high-profile social media accounts.
Hackers Took Over McDonald's Instagram Account
The hackers didn’t just post about GRIMACE—they crafted a narrative, presenting the token as “a McDonald’s experiment on Solana.” This was enough to convince some that the fast-food giant was genuinely behind the project. To add to the deception, the hackers altered McDonald's profile, thanking users for “$700,000 in Solana” and hinting at a rug pull—a blatant signal of the scam. The fraudulent post on Wednesday sparked a flurry of activity. Investors rushed in, thinking they were getting in early on a McDonald's-backed venture. According to Pump.fun data, the token’s market cap soared to $20 million in no time, only to crash below $1 million when the hackers cashed out, leaving investors with virtually worthless tokens.
McDonald's Marketing Director's Account Hacked
The post was eventually deleted, but the damage had already been done. Even McDonald's marketing director, Guillaume Huin, unknowingly contributed to the chaos by posting about GRIMACE on X with his account likely hijacked by the same hackers. His post, like the one on Instagram, has since been removed, but not before it added to the confusion.
Growing Threat of Social Media Hackers
This incident is the latest in a string of social media hacks targeting major brands and celebrities to push cryptocurrency scams. Earlier this year, Google’s cybersecurity firm Mandiant had its X account hacked. The attackers posed as the official crypto wallet Phantom, promoting a fake PHNTM token distribution and directing users to a scam website. In a similar incident, Doja Cat’s X account was hijacked in July to promote another Solana-based memecoin. The hacker flooded her profile with tweets to her 5.6 million followers, attempting to draw them into the scam. Doja Cat quickly responded on Instagram, clarifying that she wasn’t behind the posts.
The GRIMACE debacle shines a light on the risks associated with the growing memecoin market. Behind GRIMACE was Pump.fun, a Solana-based memecoin generator that has been instrumental in the creation of over 1.8 million memecoins as per Dune Analytics data. While the platform has gained traction, it’s also faced criticism for its low success rate in producing viable projects, raising concerns about the sustainability of the broader memecoin market.
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