Hackers Exploited Animoca Brands' Co-Founder X Account

Crypto Scams Exposed: Hackers Exploited Animoca Brands' Co-Founder X Account

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: December 26, 2024

Key Takeaways

Yat Siu’s X account was hacked to promote a fake token, part of a $500,000 phishing scam targeting other X accounts;
Scammers used fake copyright notices to access accounts and post misleading token promotions;
ZachXBT linked the attack to similar scams using the same wallet to create fake tokens on compromised accounts.

The social media X account of Yat Siu, co-founder and chair of Animoca Brands, was hacked to promote a fake token.

This breach is part of a series of similar attacks targeting crypto-related accounts on X. Scammers have reportedly stolen around $500,000 in the past month.

The post in question, now deleted, falsely advertised a new token called Animoca Brands (MOCA) on the Solana SOL $188.63 platform Pump.fun. The name mirrored the company’s brand and its associated Mocaverse non-fungible token (NFT) collection, likely to mislead followers.

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ZachXBT, a blockchain investigator, explained that Siu may have been targeted through a phishing email. According to ZachXBT, the same wallet address linked to Siu’s hacked post has been used to create fake tokens promoted through other compromised accounts.

Animoca Brands confirmed the incident on December 26, stating:

Unfortunately, Siu’s social media account has been compromised. <...> The token launch on Solana as claimed in a post was made by the hacker.

ZachXBT previously warned that this scam involves at least 15 hacked X accounts. Attackers use fake copyright breach notices to gain access.

Unfortunately, Yat Siu’s X account hack is not the only incident that makes headlines. Radiant Capital reportedly lost $50 million in a cyberattack, marking one of the most advanced breaches. How did the hackers pull off the breach? Read the full story.