Crypto scammers now appear to be on an expansion spree as the digital asset sector grows in various regions around the world. Binance co-founder Yi He called on Elon Musk over the weekend to take measures to ensure the spread of fake crypto news on X is proactively tackled. The Binance executive was recently embroiled in an impersonation scam, where her identity was used to promote a fake crypto token on X.
In a post published on X, he said that she has not issued any crypto tokens called MemeCoins. She has clearly instructed her followers and members of Binance’s crypto circle not to take the bait and invest in this scam token.
He called out Musk, the boss of X, and wrote: “Many people got scammed by this hacker link and lost a significant amount of money today. Is there any way to address this issue Elon Musk?” The screenshots He shared also showed her crypto handle and her name was impersonated.
Musk, who is very active on X, has not yet responded to He’s question.
I have not spent any new MEMEcoins. If you click on the link, your money will be stolen. Many people have been scammed by this hacker link and lost a significant amount of money today. Is there a way to address this issue?
@Elon Musk photo.twitter.com/fCiweFweBa— Yi He (@heyibinance) June 14, 2024
In March this year, Scam Sniffer reported in its crypto phishing report that around 57,000 victims lost about $47 million (approximately Rs 392 crore) to crypto phishing fraud, with the largest percentage of the fraud being facilitated by scammers operating on X.
:rotating_light: [1/6] ScamSniffer Phishing Report February
In February, approximately 57,000 victims lost approximately $47 million to crypto phishing fraud.
Compared to January, the number of victims who lost more than $1 million has dropped by 75%. photo.twitter.com/UgZk0K91lH— Scam Finder | Web3 Anti-Scam (@realScamSniffer) March 10, 2024
In February this year, MicroStrategy’s X account was hacked, which promoted the airdrop of a scam MSTR crypto token. Since MicroStrategy is a pro-Bitcoin business intelligence company, several people believed the token airdrop to be legit and ended up sharing it with malicious links. At the time, market analysts such as Scam Sniffer and ZachXBT estimated that this scam managed to steal around $440,000 (roughly Rs. 3.6 crore).
Blockchain Capital’s X account was also hacked last year to promote another scam token BCAP. He himself had already warned about the rising number of crypto scams that surfaced on X in January this year.
When Musk X took over from founder Jack Dorsey in April 2022, he said that ridding the social networking platform of crypto-related market-manipulating bots and scammers was one of his top priorities. Despite the changes he has made to the platform, crypto scammers are still abusing the platform to reach out to potential victims.
