A daring hacker used McDonald’s official Instagram account to promote a bogus memecoin, causing investors who weren’t expecting it to lose a lot of money.
A hacker took control of McDonald’s Instagram account on Wednesday and started promoting a memecoin based on the famous purple mascot, Grimace, of the fast food chain. This started the scam. The Solana-based token, named Scowl, was erroneously introduced as an authority McDonald’s drive.
Leveraging McDonald’s Following
The hacker’s clever use of McDonald’s large Instagram following was crucial to the scam’s success. The fast food chain’s account, which has more than 5.1 million followers, was a way to reach a large number of people and pique their interest in the bogus memecoin.
Rapid Price Surge and Rug Pull
Investors flocked to purchase GRIMACE as word of the McDonald’s-themed memecoin spread, bringing its market capitalization to a staggering $25 million in just 30 minutes. However, the joy was short-lived as the hacker pulled the rug, taking control of a significant portion of the token supply. Investors suffered significant losses as a result of the hacker selling off their holdings and driving down the price of the token.
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Crypto Scam Trends
This is not an isolated incident. Scammers use hype and social media influence to deceive investors, and rug pulls have become commonplace in the cryptocurrency industry. A similar scam that involved multiple memecoins on the Binance Smart Chain and resulted in a $1.7 million loss was reported by The Crypto Basic earlier this year.
McDonald’s Response and Aftermath
McDonald’s recognized the Instagram hack and apologized to its local area for the bother and any hostile substance posted by the programmer. Users were reassured by the fast food giant that the issue had been resolved and that their accounts were now safe.
Following the trick, the Scowl token encountered a huge cost drop, mirroring the deficiency of financial backer certainty. The devastating effects of such fraudulent schemes are highlighted by the fact that the market capitalization fell to just $77,000.
Coinex Today’s Perspective
The significance of exercising caution and conducting in-depth research prior to investing in cryptocurrencies is made clear by this incident. While the potential for gains in the crypto market can be captivating, financial backers should be watchful against tricks and false exercises.
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