Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is the latest high-profile victim of a crypto scam, as hackers hijacked his X account to promote a fraudulent meme coin.
Yu Xian, the founder of cybersecurity firm SlowMist, revealed that Mahathir’s compromised account was used to shill a token called MALAYSIA.
Some believe these scams are linked to the Russian cybercrime syndicate Evil Corp, which is notorious for large-scale financial frauds.
MALAYSIA: The Fake Meme Coin Promoted By PM Mahathir’s X Account
Crypto scams using social media continue to rise, and the case of the MALAYSIA token is just a new of many.
Hackers took control of Mahathir’s X account and posted an announcement claiming that the coin was Malaysia’s “official cryptocurrency.”
The post read:
“Malaysia’s Official Cryptocurrency MALAYSIA is Now Live on Solana! This marks a significant milestone in showcasing the strength of our people and our nation’s presence in the digital economy. It is an honor for us to demonstrate Malaysia’s power on the global crypto network.”
Although the post was taken down within an hour, it had already done significant damage.
Data from GeckoTerminal indicates that the token’s market cap skyrocketed to $1.7 million within 15 minutes of the tweet before plummeting.
Data also suggest that the hackers behind this scam were able to steal over $1.7 million from unsuspecting investors before liquidating their holdings.
The MALAYSIA token is just one in a wave of politically themed crypto scams. Among the latest was the infamous BARRON Trump’s token scam, which occurred last month and defrauded investors of millions before crashing more than 95%.
JUST IN: A fake Barron Trump Solana meme coin $BARRON just pumped to $73 million in market cap in 7 minutes
It then rugged and dumped 99% in a matter of seconds
This hack looks exactly the same as the one that happened recently to Mohammed Dewji MO, a Tanzanian politician, with the hacker stealing over $1.4 from the hack.
Mohammed Dewji MO (@moodewji) launched $TANZANIA and sold it to investors, pocketing $1.48M!
He distributed 90 $SOL($18K) to 20 wallets and bought 793M $TANZANIA(79.5% of the total supply).
After accumulating his position, he shared the contract address, then offloaded all 793M… pic.twitter.com/QI269w991P
Amid this increasing trend of influencer exploits, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin sounded the alarm, cautioning investors and politicians alike against such manipulative schemes.
The risk of politician coins comes from the fact that they are such a perfect bribery vehicle. If a politician issues a coin, you do not even need to send *them* any coins to give them money. Instead, you just buy and hold the coin, and this increases the value of their holdings… https://t.co/8Zkd7KcpuA
Despite swift action from the team, the hacker continued posting scams, which caused traders to lose millions within minutes.
Jupiter’s founder, @weremeow, suggested the breach might not be a standard cyberattack, speculating that Mei, a key team member, may have been physically targeted while traveling.
However, the team assured users that Jupiter’s treasury and smart contracts remained secure.
All these incidents add to the growing exploit hackers use to steal millions annually from the crypto space.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
All rights reserved to : USAGOLDMIES . www.usagoldmines.com
You can Enjoy surfing our website categories and read more content in many fields you may like .
Why USAGoldMines ?
USAGoldMines is a comprehensive website offering the latest in financial, crypto, and technical news. With specialized sections for each category, it provides readers with up-to-date market insights, investment trends, and technological advancements, making it a valuable resource for investors and enthusiasts in the fast-paced financial world.