skip to Main Content
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 98,681.44 0.56%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 3,452.05 4.47%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00 0.08%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 260.21 1.41%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 672.32 8.04%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 1.55 8.64%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.466646 16.50%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 1.10 22.12%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 1.00 0.09%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 3,464.18 4.86%

Coingecko’s X Accounts Compromised to Announce Fake Token Airdrop

Hackers briefly took over the official X accounts of major crypto data aggregator Coingecko to promote a fake token launch and airdrop.

The Coingecko incident became the second X hack within 24 hours after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s account was also compromised. 

  • Coingecko announced the news of the hack in an X post on Jan. 10, warning users not to click or engage any suspicious links. The platform further said it would carry out investigations and secure its X accounts. 
  • The compromised tweet, already deleted, announced the rollout of a token called GCKO, with the post directing users to a link to claim airdrops of the token to celebrate the launch. 
  • However, some users appeared to have interacted with the scam link, reporting lost funds as a result. Some others wondered if Coingecko implemented two-factor authentication (2FA) that may have prevented the hack from happening. 
  • The latest incident comes on the heels of a recent hack involving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
  • As previously reported by CryptoPotato, the SEC announced on X the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications, an announcement that sent the price of Bitcoin (BTC) to over $47,600.
  • But shortly after the tweet, SEC chairman Gary Gensler said the agency’s X account was compromised, and the news was fake, with BTC’s price falling to around $45,000 in response. 
  • While there were speculations that the hack was an inside job, a preliminary investigation by X Safety revealed that it happened because an “unidentified individual” took control of a phone number associated with the agency’s account via a third party. 
  • Also, the SEC did not set up a 2FA for its X account, with the lack of proper security measures drawing heavy criticism from the crypto community. 

The post Coingecko’s X Accounts Compromised to Announce Fake Token Airdrop appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Loading data ...
Comparison
View chart compare
View table compare
Back To Top