On Thursday, December 29, 2022, the official Twitter account of Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary (also known as "Mr. Wonderful") was hacked and used to promote a fraudulent Bitcoin and Ethereum giveaway. The scammers posted tweets claiming that O'Leary had made enormous profits from crypto and was giving away 5,000 Bitcoin and 15,000 Ethereum. A link directed users to a fake website mimicking O'Leary's official giveaway page.
Details of the Attack
The hacked account tweeted that the giveaway was real and that O'Leary had announced it on CNBC the previous night. It insisted the account was not compromised. The scam website, which bore the Tesla logo and was hosted on a domain containing "Tesla," had been previously used for fake Elon Musk giveaways. Two separate links for BTC and ETH giveaways invited participants to send crypto to a designated address, promising double returns.
Twitter removed the fraudulent posts within a few hours, but the incident underscores the pervasiveness of crypto giveaway scams on social media.
Widespread Problem on Social Media
Cryptocurrency giveaway scams are rampant across platforms like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. Hackers frequently compromise accounts of celebrities, politicians, and corporations to lend credibility. In July 2020, a massive hack affected accounts of Apple, Google, Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and others to promote a Bitcoin giveaway. More recently, Pakistani politician Imran Khan's Instagram and the British Army's YouTube and Twitter accounts were similarly abused.
The O'Leary hack also comes amid controversy: O'Leary had been a paid spokesperson for FTX ($15 million deal) and continued to defend former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried even after FTX's collapse, calling him a brilliant trader. The hacking incident may further erode his reputation.
Security experts reiterate that any giveaway requiring upfront crypto payments is a scam. Users should verify promotions through official channels and avoid clicking links in unsolicited tweets.