Hackers Promote Fake Crypto Using Social Media Accounts of Kenyan Police

The Kenyan Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) announced on February 9 that it had successfully recovered access to its Facebook and X accounts which had been compromised by hackers.

According to the law enforcement unit, the cybercriminals had used the accounts to promote a fraudulent crypto. Following the recovery of its accounts, the DCI stated that it had launched an investigation into the incident.

The agency’s statement confirming the security breach came just hours after the hackers had introduced a cryptocurrency coin named DCI. Reports suggest that the cybercriminals attempted to lure Kenyans by presenting the token as a blockchain initiative that could save the country millions of dollars each year.

Along with publishing the contract address for the crypto, the hackers falsely claimed that the DCI token had been listed on several well-known crypto exchanges, though they did not specify which ones. They also encouraged engagement by offering tokens in return for likes and urged followers to ask local media outlets to endorse the project.

By February 10 at 1:00 PM EST, the unauthorized posts had been deleted, and the agency appeared to have restored full control of its social media accounts.

The Kenyan DCI is one of the latest high-profile institutions to fall victim to hackers who specialize in pushing fraudulent crypto schemes. A similar incident was reported in Tanzania involving billionaire Mohammed Dewji. Cybercriminals had taken over his X account, leading to financial losses exceeding $1.4 million among his followers.

In that incident, the billionaire discovered the breach on February 5 and promptly distanced himself from the scam, reporting the issue to X. However, the hackers continued posting promotional content about the so-called “Tanzania Token.”

In one misleading post, which has since been deleted, a look-alike figure of Dewji falsely claimed that his account hadn’t been hacked and asked followers to invest in the token. Roughly a day later, Dewji regained control of the account and warned users about the fraud while apologizing for the misleading content posted by the scammers.

A report by Forbes connected the hackers who perpetrated the “Tanzania token” fraud to another group that had compromised former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s social media accounts in January. According to blockchain investigator Zachxbt, scammers pretending to be Bolsonaro stole approximately $1.3 million worth of digital assets.

Elon Musk’s 2022 acquisition of X and the subsequent easing of content control have made the platform a breeding ground for scams involving cryptocurrencies. Deepfake technology has been used more frequently by scammers to produce phony videos of Musk promoting crypto.

Crypto industry actors like Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: RIOT) would do well to review all these cases and find proactive ways to safeguard their systems from similar attacks.

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