Over the weekend, hackers focused the social media accounts of Visa and Hollywood actor Dean Norris to advertise fraudulent crypto tokens.
The incidents raised considerations in regards to the rising use of compromised high-profile accounts to hold out crypto fraud.
The Fb Visa Compromise
On January twenty sixth, hackers accessed Visa's official Fb web page and used it to advertise a suspicious Solana-based cryptocurrency.
The attackers claimed that the token was a part of Visa's promise to subject a crypto token. They wrote:
βKeep in mind in 2014 we mentioned weβd have a coin referred to as 'VISA' in 11 years. Properly, it's 2025 and right here weβre!β
Nonetheless, members of the crypto neighborhood had been skeptical of the announcement and warned trade gamers towards it.
In the meantime, critics derided the fraudster's selection of Fb for the rip-off, suggesting it was unlikely to draw seasoned crypto traders.
Nonetheless, the token's market capitalization reportedly climbed to $6 million earlier than the attackers orchestrated a carpet-pulling β a tactic by which malicious actors all of a sudden unload tokens, driving down the worth and leaving traders at a loss.
Visa has not but formally commented on the incident.
Visa is a number one conventional monetary establishment that has made important progress within the crypto scene. It has partnerships with corporations like Coinbase, Transak, Circle and Solana to create a connection between conventional finance and cryptocurrencies.
Dean Norris hack
On January 25, the X account of American actor Dean Norris was hacked to advertise a memecoin referred to as $DEAN.
The hackers shared a digitally altered picture of the actor holding an indication with the title of the token to lend credibility to the rip-off.
Nonetheless, Norris revealed the token in a January 26 video the place he mentioned his platform had been hacked.
The Breaking Dangerous actor urged his followers to disregard the token, clarifying that he had no involvement in it. He expressed disappointment on the backlash on Reddit and reiterated that he not often makes use of social media platforms.
acknowledged:
βThat is truly Dean Norris and the entire loopy crypto sh*t was an entire pretend hoax. I've been hacked.β
