OnePlus Co-Founder Carl Pei’s Twitter Account Hacked in Crypto Scam
Carl Pei, the co-founder of OnePlus, recently announced the Nothing brand and confirmed the release of the company’s first TWS headphones later this year. While waiting for the news, the Twitter account of Carl Pei was hacked to carry out a Bitcoin scam, according to 91mobiles.
When the attackers gained access to the account, they tweeted that Nothing had joined the cryptocurrency industry with NothingCoin, that is based on the Ethereum (ETH) ERC 20 chain. The hacker also attached an address asking users to pay their ETH, after which “Nothing coins will be distributed”.
Pei urged readers not to send their ETH to avoid being scammed
The tweet was removed minutes later, and Pei confirmed that his Twitter account had been hijacked. He further stated that the tweet was fake and urged readers not to send their ETH to the address provided.
Through permissions granted to my @IFTTT which was hacked, this Tweet was injected asking for your ETH. Please do not send any ETH or your personal info to cryptocurrency accounts claiming to be @Nothing. I’ve deleted all 3rd party apps connecting to my Twitter. pic.twitter.com/WWx7Q4nPAh
— Carl Pei (@getpeid) May 25, 2021
Carl Pei stated “Through permissions granted to my IFTTT, which was hacked, this Tweet was injected asking for your ETH. Please do not send any ETH or your personal info to cryptocurrency accounts claiming to be @Nothing. I’ve deleted all 3rd party apps connecting to my Twitter”.
One of hackers’ favorite target is Twitter
This is not the first time a high-profile Twitter account has been compromised in connection with a cryptocurrency scam. Among the victims you can count the current US president, Barack Obama, Elon Musk, and Kanye West.
The Realme India support team’s Twitter account was recently hacked and utilized to execute a cryptocurrency scam by altering the Realme Twitter handle’s identity to Tesla and reacting to Elon Musk’s tweets. The account, however, was restored within 15 minutes.
The following method is used by most crypto scams: A scammer will ask you to send money or make a payment in Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency. Once you have done that, your money is gone, and there is usually no way to get it back.
Pay attention to crypto scams
So, if you see a tweet, a text message, email, or other social media communication requesting payment in bitcoin, you know it is a fraud. What are some more red flags that this is a scam? They may promise that you will make money, that you will fast double your money, or that you will receive free money in dollars or cryptocurrencies. Free money? Really? Never.
This month Twitter has been found to have privacy issues in its new Tip Jar function. This feature allows users including journalists, security specialists, developers, and others to send tips to each other. However, this intriguing new tip jar feature puts Twitter users’ privacy at risk.
