Coinspeaker
Hackers Take Over Aptos Foundation’s Twitter Account to Promote Fake APT AirDrop
Layer-1 blockchain company Aptos Foundation appears to have had its Twitter account compromised after it was seen promoting a “scam” cryptocurrency airdrop. The bad actors did not only take over Aptos’ account but also Aptos CEO Mo Shaikh’s Twitter account in what looks to be a grand scheme to defraud unsuspecting investors.
The account, which has over 393,000 Twitter followers, had put up a post that directed people to a fake website for a chance to partake in an airdrop on the Ethereum blockchain.
While the post was up, the hackers ensured to restrict commenting on it so that others could not warn that the link was a scam. The post was live for a few hours and also viewed many times before it was finally taken down.
Aptos Warns Twitter Users, Promises Recovery
Meanwhile, Aptos Labs, the team behind Aptos (APT), has also confirmed the attack. They wrote:
“We’ve received official communication from Aptos Foundation that @Aptos_Network has been compromised.”
The team has also warned users against engaging in such posts. The firm notes that such links usually lead to a phishing website designed to steal users’ tokens.
Most commonly, users will be asked to click a “claim” button, which ultimately deceives them into connecting their wallets. Aptos Labs wrote in part:
“The latest tweet regarding an $APT airdrop is fraudulent. Please DO NOT engage with that tweet or the link provided.”
Aptos Labs also noted that it is currently coordinating with Aptos Foundation to recover and secure the Twitter account.
Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that the takeover method is gradually gaining popularity among hackers. It is one of their hottest moves to lure users with fake token airdrops via Twitter. As previously reported by Coinspeaker, bad actors took control of the OpenAI CTO’s Twitter account to announce fake $OPENAI airdrops.
Accounts of prominent personalities have also been compromised in the same way in the past. For example, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and even Binance’s Changpeng Zhao have, at some point, been victims of these bad acts themselves.
As of publication, there is yet to be an official confirmation of how the Aptos Twitter account breach took place. But there are reasons to believe that it could have been a SIM-swap attack.
Hackers Take Over Aptos Foundation’s Twitter Account to Promote Fake APT AirDrop
