Bad actors keep ramping up crypto scams, with impersonation accounts surging to over 300 a day, according to blockchain analysts.
Crypto scams on X are once again rising fast, with major accounts hijacked to promote fake tokens. Victims have already lost millions, and experts are warning users to stay alert.
Analysts at blockchain firm Scam Sniffer warned in an X post on Dec. 10 that starting this week, daily impersonation accounts surged by 87%, jumping to over 300 compared to the November average of 160. The spike increases the risk for users as scammers continue to exploit high-profile accounts to push fraudulent schemes.
The analysts note that in one recent case alone, two victims lost over $3 million worth of crypto by interacting with malicious links and signing transactions linked to fake accounts. As crypto.news reported earlier, the scams are particularly prevalent on Solana (SOL), where compromised accounts, including those of major entities like Yahoo News UK, Lenovo India, and Money Control, have been used to push a scam meme coin called HACKED.
Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT, who has been tracking these scams, recently issued a warning to the crypto community, advising users to be extra cautious. “So far, it seems the scammers may have lost money, as the market cap of the HACKED token is a modest $67K, and top traders have barely made $1K,” ZachXBT noted.
The compromised X accounts appear to have been connected to the same malicious site or application. As a precaution, ZachXBT recommends that users revoke any access permissions to unfamiliar sites or apps.
The latest incident follows a series of similar scams, including the recent use of Kylian Mbappé’s account to promote a fake MBAPPE meme coin. Earlier in September, hackers also targeted family members of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump in a scam involving the fake World Liberty Financial coin.
