- Celebrities’ social media accounts are compromised and used for crypto fraud, including Kylian Mbappe’s X to promote fake $MBAPPE tokens.
- Sites like Pump that create meme coins can enable the creation of pump-and-dump scams within a short period of time, showcasing potential dangers in the crypto market.
- Some investors made a profit from such tokens, while others incurred a loss, highlighting the high risk and unpredictability of such tokens.
On 29th August, Kylian Mbappe’s X account was said to have been hacked, which saw many of his followers lose a lot of money. They took advantage of the French football star to advertise a dodgy cryptocurrency known as ‘$MBAPPE’ where an investor was defrauded within a few minutes and lost over $1 million. This tragedy has highlighted the increasing prevalence of cryptocurrency scams involving celebrities’ social media profiles.
The scam started by creating messages in what appears to be Mbappe’s hacked account, through which the $MBAPPE token fraud was promoted. Many users accessed these posts with one, who turned out to be a victim, launching a new wallet and investing 7,156 SOL, or about $1.03 mil in the token. After the establishment of the investment, the value of $MBAPPE crashed, and the token embarked on a pump-and-dump coupon, and the victim lost a lot of money, amounting to only $9,200.
Platform Vulnerabilities
It is worth noting that the malicious $MBAPPE token was released on Pump, a Solana-based platform that allows users to create meme coins. Of course, many people consider this platform easy to use. However, the Mbappe case shows that this platform also has a lot of risks. The token saw short-term speculation rise to extraordinary heights but quickly plummet, thus showing the risks involved in pursuing such projects.
Mixed Outcomes for Investors
The outcome of the scam was generally negative, but some investors could make money. Crypto journalist Colin Wu said that one person bought only 2 SOLs, equivalent to $286, invested in the $MBAPPE token and sold their tokens at the highest price, receiving 1,398 SOLs or $200,000.
This outcome reveals how the rapid fluctuation is the nature of the cryptocurrency market.The hack led to doubts regarding the authenticity of the posts, with some people wondering if Mbappe was behind it. It was not long before it was apparent that his account had been hacked.
Other similar cases include a recent hack of McDonald’s Instagram account where the scammers posted about a fake cryptocurrency called “Grimace. ” The Mbappe attack is a reminder of the dangers of social media and the potential for financial losses for those who fall for such scams.
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