Bitcoin scams and hacks have been extremely common over the last few years, but the recent conundrum on Twitter may have been the most memorable one in recent years.
Surrounding a cryptocurrency scam, an unidentified hacker found his way into several high-profile Twitter accounts and asked for BTC donations on social media platforms.
From Apple to Uber, from Kanye West to Barack Obama, everyone’s profile was intertwined, and a common tweet shared across everyone’s handle echoed a BTC donations message.
“I am giving back to the community. All Bitcoin sent to the address below will be sent back doubled! If you send $1000, I will send back $2000. Only doing this for 30 minutes.”
Following the incredible mess, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey made an online statement stating the organization’s regrets about the situation. The CEO said the company felt “terrible this happened.”
Dmitry Alperovitch, the co-founder of Crowd Strike, informed media outlets that the above-mentioned hack could possibly be the “worst witness” on a major social media platform in history.
You may be unable to Tweet or reset your password while we review and address this incident.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) July 15, 2020
Hacker possibly made $120,000 in Bitcoins; unconfirmed
Although unconfirmed, Business Insider suggested that data from available blockchain records suggested that a hacker might make up close to $120,000 over the short scam period.
The hack was identified within hours, but hundreds of people took the bait on the platform and one particular wallet address reported receiving more than 350 transactions.
Ironically, the functionality of Bitcoin may make it difficult to properly identify the exact amount that the hack was able to collect during the scam.
Tron’s Justin Sun announces $1 million bounty following hack
The attention received by the scam was widespread and crypto proponents were taking centre stage as well. Justin Sun, Founder of TRON, released a bounty of $1 million for the capture of the hacker as he revealed that his team was working closely with Twitter on the issue. He informed outlets,
“We are working closely with Twitter to resolve this issue immediately and return our accounts to normal. We are always vigilant in handling our accounts; operating safely and responsibly — taking the security of our accounts to the highest standards possible. This only further illuminates the urgent need for our society to adopt decentralized, trustless software, and services.”