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Cryptocurrency scammers hack into Indian Prime Minister’s Twitter account

Hackers hijacked PM Modi's Twitter account and used it to ask for BTC and ETH.

PM Narendra Modi / Wikimedia Commons

Fri, 04 Sep 2020, 06:20 am UTC

Cryptocurrency scammers have been targeting high-profile social media accounts with the intention of using them to promote their schemes. The Twitter India’s Prime Minister became the latest victim to these high-tech cybercriminals who used it to ask for donations in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

Hackers were able to breach the Twitter account of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, September 3, India Today reported. Shortly after, the hackers used the account, which is linked to the Modi’s personal website, to post a series of tweets.

One tweet was asking for cryptocurrency donations in Ethereum (ETH). “I appeal to you all to donate generously to PM National Relief Fund for Covid-19, Now India begin with crypto currency, Kindly Donate eth to 0xae073DB1e5752faFF169B1ede7E8E94bF7f80Be6,” the tweet said.

Another tweet asked Modi’s more than two million followers to donate in BTC. “I appeal to you all to donate generously to PM National Relief Fund for Covid-19, Now India begin with crypto currency, Kindly Donate Bitcoin to 14DuwVLiHLcMqhtMqe4bRcfNGoYPcEaGYt,” the tweet told Modi’s followers.

Thankfully, the crypto scam was not successful in tricking any of Modi’s followers. Based on blockchain data, no crypto funds were sent to either the ETH or the BTD address, Cointelegraph reported.

In one of the tweets, the hacker group, who call themselves John Wick, claimed responsibility for the hack. However, the group also denied hacking the e-commerce site Paytm Mall. “Yes this account is hacked by John Wick ([email protected]), We have not hacked Paytm Mall,” the tweet said.

Twitter already confirmed the hacking of PM Modi’s personal account while assuring that they are ramping up their security for the affected account. “We are actively investigating the situation. At this time, we are not aware of additional accounts being impacted," a Twitter spokesperson told Reuters.

Prime Minister Modi isn’t the only high-profile personality being targeted by hackers for their crypto scams. In July, cryptocurrency scammer also hacked the Twitter accounts of Apple, Bill Gates, Joe Biden, Elon Musk, former POTUS Barack Obama billionaire investor Warren Buffet, “KUWTK” star Kim Kardashian West, Mike Bloomberg, Wendy’s, Uber, CashApp, and YouTuber MrBeast.

After hijacking the high-profile social media accounts, the hacker posted a message asking for BTC. “I am giving back to the community,” the hacker posted using Joe Biden’s Twitter account. “All Bitcoin sent to the address below will be sent back doubled! If you send $1,000, I will send back $2,000! Only doing this for 30 minutes.”

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