Hackers Fry Up $700K After Hacking McDonald’s Instagram for Grimace Coin Grift
Key Takeaways
- Hackers targeted McDonald’s Instagram, promoting a fake ‘Grimace Coin’ and causing its value to spike before crashing.
- The incident highlights the growing issue of memecoin scams, where tokens with little value are hyped on social media before a sudden dump by creators.
- The attack on McDonald’s is part of a larger trend of social media hacks targeting celebs and firms for crypto scams.
McDonald’s Instagram account was recently hijacked by hackers who used the platform to shill a dubious cryptocurrency called Grimace Coin.
The scammers made off with a staggering $700,000, leaving many confused investors in their wake.
The hack is just the latest example of the Wild West of meme coins, where thousands of digital tokens featuring cartoon characters and canine mascots are minted daily.
The Grimace Coin grift is just the latest in a long line of get-rich-quick schemes that are leaving investors feeling burned.
Hackers Target McDonald’s Instagram, Promote Fake Crypto Coin
Screenshots shared on social media platform X displayed a pair of posts on the compromised McDonald’s Instagram account, including one directing followers to a “McDonald’s experiment” on Solana.
Another post asked users about their ownership of the Grimace Coin, accompanied by an image that ultimately revealed the true nature of the scam.
In response, McDonald’s swiftly issued a statement describing the breach as an “isolated incident” that impacted its social media accounts. “We have resolved the issue on those accounts and apologize to our fans for any offensive language posted during that time,” the company stated.
By 5:30 p.m. New York time, on Wednesday, August 21st, the posts were no longer visible on McDonald’s account.
According to blockchain analytics service Bubblemaps , the hacker initially utilized a Solana memecoin deployer, pump.fun, to acquire 75% of the total circulating supply of the Grimace token. The tokens were then distributed across approximately 100 different wallets.
The value of the GRIMACE memecoin experienced a meteoric rise as promotional posts appeared on the hijacked McDonald’s Instagram account. Data from DexScreener shows that its market capitalization surged from a few thousand dollars to a staggering $25 million within a mere 30 minutes.
However, the token’s value rapidly declined when the hacker cashed out their holdings, leaving investors reeling from the sudden collapse. The incident serves as a stark reminder of the risks and uncertainties surrounding the meme coin landscape, where the lines between speculation and fraud are often blurred.
Fake Celebrity Endorsements Fuel Crypto Scams on Social Media
Crypto-related scams and frauds represent a major area of concern for regulators, as these schemes frequently target social media platform users.
Celebrities, politicians, influencers, and major corporations’ social media accounts on platforms like Instagram and X are often compromised.
These hijacked accounts then often post messages urging followers to purchase specific tokens or provide their login details to phishing websites.
Additionally, scammers are increasingly utilizing AI-based tools to generate images and audio and create convincing social media videos.
These videos falsely depict celebrities and influencers endorsing cryptocurrencies, misleading viewers when, in fact, no such endorsement has occurred.
These episodes underscore a rising trend in hacks aimed at accounts with substantial followings.
Moreover, these scams often involve memecoins associated with the Solana blockchain, like GRIMACE, exploiting the swift price fluctuations of these digital assets.
Doja Cat, Bezos, and Musk Among Latest Victims of Crypto Scams
Earlier this year, the X account of Mandiant , Google’s cybersecurity firm, was compromised.
In this incident, attackers used the account to promote a fictitious token, masquerading as the Phantom crypto wallet.
They directed users to a fraudulent website, and the scam messages stayed up for several hours before being taken down.
In July, Doja Cat’s X account was hacked to promote a Solana-based memecoin.
The hacker removed her profile picture and bio and then posted over two dozen tweets to her 5.6 million followers.
Doja Cat quickly addressed the breach on her Instagram, reassuring her 24 million followers that she was not behind the tweets.
This incident is part of a larger pattern of celebrity account hacks, including reactions from other celebrities like Iggy Azalea, who publicly supported Doja Cat.
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