Reports state that on November 3, a hack into rapper Wiz Khalifa’s X (previously Twitter) social media account promoted the fraudulent cryptocurrency “WIZ.” Khalifa’s 35.7 million followers were the focus of the illegal posts, which implied that he was introducing a new coin for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. The hackers wrote a sincere message on Khalifa’s account, suggesting that he and his group were launching the WIZ memecoin, which was intended to entice cryptocurrency fans to invest quickly.
Initially, the introduction of the WIZ token on a Sofia-headquartered platform led to a significant surge in its value. As enthusiastic customers flooded in, the coin’s market capitalization reached an astounding $3.4 million in just 15 minutes. This was only temporary, though, as early purchasers quickly unloaded their tokens, which led to a sharp decline in the coin’s value to less than $28,000 in the first hour. The token’s value had dropped even further by the time of the last check, trading at about $8,400.
Two main wallets initially bought nearly 155 million WIZ tokens, investing roughly $19,100, and eventually cashing out with a total profit of almost $160,000, according to statistics from Solscan. For smaller investors who bought in when the token price peaked, this massive sell-off resulted in enormous financial losses.
Although the hackers’ precise identity is still unclear, well-known blockchain researcher ZachXBT hypothesized that the same person may have been responsible for the October 29 hack of Truth Terminal developer Andy Ayrey’s X account. In both cases, the hackers used the compromised accounts to promote fake cryptocurrency, resulting in significant illicit profits. ZachXBT cautioned the public against buying WIZ tokens and advised the cryptocurrency community to stay away from frauds that use hacked social media accounts.
The assault on Khalifa’s account is part of a larger pattern where scammers target well-known people on social media to give their scams legitimacy. Scammers exploit compromised accounts to introduce questionable coins, making celebrity followers and cryptocurrency investors more vulnerable to financial losses. These events highlight the significance of sophisticated security measures for social media profiles and increased user knowledge of possible frauds.
To safeguard users and investors, the surge in account thefts and bogus cryptocurrency marketing necessitates stricter security protocols on social media sites and more stringent regulation of the cryptocurrency sector.
