Solana

Famous heavy metal band, Metallica, has been the latest victim of an X account breach. Late Tuesday, hackers used the band’s account to advertise a fraudulent Solana token, $METAL. Although Metallica later recovered the account and deleted the promotional tweets, some users were caught in the scam and lost their SOL tokens.
Also read: <a href="https://www.cryptopolitan.com/rapper-50-cents-twitter-hacked/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Rapper 50 Cent’s Twitter hacked to hype the GUNIT token</a>
Despite being one of the most high-profile X hacks this year, Metallica has yet to release a statement about the incident. Approximately 20 minutes after the posts were put up, $METAL’s market cap rose to over $3 million. After multiple accounts reported the hack, the token’s value plummeted by almost 100%, and its total market cap dropped below $90K.
<h2 id="span-style-font-weight-400-hackers-suggest-collaborations-with-ticketmaster-and-moonpay-on-metallica-s-x-account-span">Hackers suggest collaborations with Ticketmaster and MoonPay on Metallica’s X account</h2>
The first post following the hack introduced $METAL as a token on Solana that would change how fans interact with Metallica events and online shopping. It suggested a collaboration with Ticketmaster, promising exclusive discounts on ticket sales. The tweet claimed that fans could get up to 25% discounts if they bought tickets using $METAL.
The tweet highlighted the benefits of the Solana blockchain to $METAL holders. The hackers pointed out the blockchain’s capabilities in streamlining transactions, including buying $METAL, making purchases, earning, and more. Users could also expect widespread adoption of the $METAL token on Solana, they added.
The hackers posted another tweet, suggesting a partnership with MoonPay to help users buy $METAL with credit and debit cards. MoonPay <a href="https://x.com/moonpay/status/1805771261466890290" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">came out</a> soon after to clear the air, insisting it didn’t support the $METAL token.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
 🚨 MoonPay Safety Alert 🚨
 If someone is offering you a <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24METAL&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">$METAL</a> token, they are not the master of puppets – they’re the master of scams! 🎸
 Keep your keys safe and ride the lightning responsibly!⚡️ <a href="https://t.co/y1j3RkfY0f" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://t.co/y1j3RkfY0f</a>
 — MoonPay 🟣 (@moonpay) <a href="https://twitter.com/moonpay/status/1805771261466890290?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">June 26, 2024</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The hackers used several other tweets to get Metallica’s followers to buy $METAL. One suggested a limited edition Xbox Series X console signed by all Metallica members. More false claims included providing users with staking rewards, custom merchandise, and free concert tickets.
<h2 id="span-style-font-weight-400-other-high-profile-x-accounts-suffer-similar-attacks-span">Other high-profile X accounts suffer similar attacks</h2>
Rapper Curtis James Jackson, aka 50 Cent, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/50cent/p/C8fW3MrO46P/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">made</a> his followers aware of a similar attack on his X account on June 21. The pump-and-dump scheme targeted his followers to invest in another token called $GUNIT. Similar to what happened in the Metallica case, the token price skyrocketed, and the hackers profited an estimated $300 million during the hack.&nbsp;
&nbsp;Also read: <a href="https://www.cryptopolitan.com/slowmist-warns-attacks-on-ton-ecosystem/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Blockchain security firm warns TON users about phishing attacks</a>
In February this year, Microstrategy’s X account was also<a href="https://x.com/spreekaway/status/1761914062609248287?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1761914062609248287%7Ctwgr%5E453491de0c9fbbd0f4cae6d4facf9619d3256ce4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.coindesk.com%2Fbusiness%2F2024%2F02%2F26%2Fmicrostrategys-x-account-hacked-leads-to-440k-crypto-being-stolen-blockchain-sleuth-zachxbt%2F" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"> hacked</a>, leading to over $400,000 in crypto losses. The hackers claimed the launch of $MSTR, a new Ethereum token backed by Microstrategy’s BTC reserves.&nbsp;
In March, PeckShield, a blockchain security company, <a href="https://x.com/PeckShieldAlert/status/1767394876889637198?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1767394876889637198%7Ctwgr%5E175fcd063927bd182a557bde19fb8041c1dc520f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ibtimes.com%2Fweb3-messaging-platform-beobles-x-account-compromised-phishing-hackers-3726985" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">reported</a> that Beoble, a web3 chat solutions provider, had its X account breached by phishing hackers. PeckShield requested users not to click on links provided in the post.&nbsp;
Beoble later created a temporary account to confirm the incident and asked its followers not to interact with posts from its official account. Other reports have <a href="https://twitter.com/realScamSniffer/status/1766758144020217933" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">confirmed</a> that users lost nearly $47 million through the attack.
Cryptopolitan reporting by Collins J. Okoth

Metallica’s X account hacked to pump $METAL token

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