Crypto traders reportedly lost millions after the X account of soccer player Kylian Mbappé was hacked on late last night. According to multiple reports, the hacker took control of the player’s account to promote a phony crypto token with promises to double any tokens sent to a particular address.
As a result, the market capitalization of the Kylian Mbappé (MBAPPE) coin skyrocketed to $460 million. But this value later dropped sharply to below $100,000.
One particular trader reportedly lost more than $1 million in the scheme. According to information released by on-chain intelligence company Lookonchain, the person purchased the phony MBAPPE token for more than $1 million in Solana tokens. The company noted, “A new wallet was created, and someone spent 7,156 $SOL (equivalent to $1.03M) to buy a meme coin called $MBAPPE, which is currently worth only $9.2K. This person lost over $1M in an hour!”
This incident is the latest in a string of tragic events involving fraudulent crypto connected to celebrities. In August, TrumpCoin (DJT), a memecoin with a Trump motif, fell 95%, matching a wider decline in the cryptocurrency market.
The trader who put $1 million into the phony coins did so soon after the player’s X account was compromised and started promoting the phony coin. The endorsement post has since been removed from the platform.
The scam gained enough traction that some of the world’s leading cryptocurrency companies, including Crypto.com, the 13th largest crypto exchange, issued warnings against the fraudulent token.
Interestingly, while many suffered losses, some savvy traders managed to profit from the fraudulent token. An anonymous trader turned an initial investment of $28 into nearly $124,000, according to a pseudonymous trader Yet, who shared details in an X post.
The trader capitalized on the situation by cashing out $126,000 worth of Solana just before the token’s price plummeted, as confirmed by data from Coinstats.
Reports indicate that the scammers managed to sell more than 90,000 units before vanishing. In one of their tweets, the company offered an address and urged followers to donate money on the fictitious pretense that the Real Madrid star would follow them. It remains unclear whether anyone fell for this additional ruse.
The Mbappé hack is not an isolated case in the world of cyber scams. Recently, the McDonald’s Instagram account was also hacked to carry out a similar fraudulent activity. Reports suggest that the hackers used the account to promote a token called “Grimace.”
The value of the fictitious cryptocurrency surged to more than $25 million in only 30 minutes, with many of McDonald’s followers getting on board until it crashed. The scammers later boasted that they had embezzled more than $700,000 from consumers.
It is now more imperative for all entities in the crypto space, such as Stronghold Digital Mining Inc. (NASDAQ: SDIG), to always be vigilant and constantly update their cybersecurity systems so that they don’t fall victim to the ever-increasing cases of hacking.
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