50 Cent's Social Media Hacked for $300M Cryptocurrency Scam; Celebrity Involvement in Crypto Grows
Summary:
Celebrated rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson III reported that his social media account (formerly known as Twitter) and website fell victim to a cyberattack. This hacking allowed fraudsters to use the platform to advertise a cryptocurrency scam, leading to a loss of $300 million for investors. The scam, known as a "Rug pull", involved inflating the price of newly coined "GUNIT" token before plummeting its value. The news follows several recent incidents of celebrities, including Caitlyn Jenner, getting involved in the cryptocurrency market, sometimes causing confusion and controversy.
Famed rapper Curtis James Jackson III, popularly known as "50 Cent," recently revealed that his X (previously Twitter) account and personal website suffered a cyberattack. This event resulted in hackers using his platform to advocate for a cryptocurrency scam token that deceived individuals out of a staggering $300 million. This fraudulent tactic, known as a "Rug pull," involved deceitful developers inventing a fresh cryptocurrency token named "GUNIT," which was inflated in price. Utilizing Jackson's considerable X follower base of about 12.9 million, more investors were lured in before the token underwent a chilling drop to $0.00016.
On June 21, Jackson informed his extensive Instagram audience numbering 32.8 million followers that his X account and website had been infiltrated and massive sums of funds already siphoned off from the initiative. “Twitter reacted swiftly to secure my account. The perpetrator of this act bagged $300,000,000 in just 30 minutes, ” remarked Jackson. He then strongly asserted no affiliation with said cryptocurrency.
Following the incident, several posts from within the cryptocurrency community, coupled with charts illustrating the sudden price increase and subsequent drastic reduction of the token emerged — a common pattern associated with a rug pull.
This incident trails an ongoing trend of celebrities being linked with the launch of cryptocurrency products. Among the latest entrants into the cryptocurrency world is high-profile figure Caitlyn Jenner. Her entry sparked a debate due to conflicting signals surrounding her own token introduction. Initial dismissals of the idea that her X account may have been hacked were later revisited amidst her defense of the JENNER token.
In a report by Cointelegraph on May 27, it was mentioned Jenner’s X account featured a request asking followers to propose their favored memecoins. Although the post was eventually removed, Jenner continued her promotion of JENNER. “The third-party token ad was deleted! As I initially stated, I am only focused on $Jenner and the ad I shared led to misconceptions among many, hence its removal. As I have always emphasized, my sole focus is my token $Jenner,” Jenner posted on X.
Published At
6/22/2024 10:50:07 AM
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