Hackers hijack official Nasdaq account to promote fraudulent memecoin

23 January 2025 2 minutes Author: Newsman

The official NASDAQ account on the social network X (formerly Twitter) has been hacked. The attackers used the account to promote a fake memecoin called STONKS, causing its value to skyrocket, albeit temporarily, to 80 million $

The incident occurred on the night of January 22, 2025, Pacific Time, when hackers gained access to the NASDAQ account. They used the company’s reputation to promote the “STONKS” token and made it appear as if it was a Nasdaq partnership project. This led to a wave of investments from users who believed the information was credible. Within hours, the token’s capitalization reached $80 million, but its value plummeted after the scam was exposed.

The hackers allegedly created fake accounts and retweeted posts about the tokens from the official NASDAQ account, which gave the fraudulent scheme even more credibility. X-users who suffered losses as a result of the incident have already expressed their outrage. One victim reported losing $200,000 and said he would seek legal advice. The incident also sparked a debate about the need for greater cybersecurity at large companies.

This is not the first time that hackers have used the accounts of well-known companies and individuals to commit fraud in the cryptocurrency sector. Similar attacks have been seen in the past against the accounts of celebrities such as Drake and organizations such as the Cardano Foundation. Such incidents point to a significant gap in the security of social networks, despite the implementation of two-factor authentication. Nasdaq was able to regain control of the account by removing the offensive posts and blocking the fake profiles. However, this incident highlights the need for improved security protocols and for users to be cautious about investments, even if they are promoted through official accounts.

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