Google, Target see Twitter accounts hacked to promote yet-another bitcoin scam

Bitcoin • November 14, 2018, 2:22PM EST
Published 1 hour earlier on
The Block

Elon Musk is in increasingly good company. While the Tesla/SpaceX CEO has for months seen clones of his Twitter account used to promote various crypto scams, the crooks are taking things to a new level by actually hacking high-profile accounts for the same nonsense. Both Google's G Suite and Target's actual Twitter accounts have been taken over by hackers in the past day, ostensibly promoting a "giveaway" of 10,000 bitcoin (worth north of $55M even after today's bitcoin price drop). 

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Twitter told The Verge, "the company has improved how it handles cryptocurrency scams, and that it intends to continue to invest in tools to better handle spam in the future." These events -- and the proliferation of fake Musk accounts throughout 2018 -- suggest there is much work to be done. Needless to say, don't participate in these scams, which mostly seem to be lightweight, Ponzi-like grabs for your tokens.  (Source: The Verge)

About Author

John Biggs is an entrepreneur, consultant, writer, and maker. He spent fifteen years as an editor for Gizmodo, CrunchGear, and TechCrunch and has a deep background in hardware startups, 3D printing, and blockchain. His work has appeared in Men’s Health, Wired, and the New York Times. He runs the Technotopia podcast about a better future. He has written five books including the best book on blogging, Bloggers Boot Camp, and a book about the most expensive timepiece ever made, Marie Antoinette’s Watch. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. Disclosure: Biggs owns and maintains cryptocurrencies in a private account and has been consulting with startups regarding blockchain-based products. He also edits and writes for startup clients.

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