The fake $OPENAI token tweet remained active for about an hour.
Another story of hackers compromising the Twitter accounts of famous personalities to steal crypto has come to light with the news that OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati’s account was hacked. A yet-to-be-identified entity managed to gain unauthorized access to her account.
The hacker used Mira’s Twitter account to promote a fake $OPENAI token airdrop, claiming that the token was motivated through AI-based language and would promote decentralization and encourage more people to participate in the Ethereum blockchain.
Mira Murati’s (CTO at @OpenAI) account has been hacked and is being used to promote crypto scams. The tweet is gaining 1k+ impressions per minute. pic.twitter.com/VekeRV1xDT
— Max Rdlb (@maxrdlb) June 2, 2023
The Twitter Hacker Used a Phishing Link to Fake OpenAI Website
The link in the tweet led to a website that looked exactly like the official OpenAI site, making it hard to tell the difference between them. The main issue that someone who is very vigilant would have noticed was the prompt for connecting to a crypto wallet intended to be used to scam.
In addition to the wallet used was a draining kit that would drain all the NFTs and ERC-20 tokens that victims had in their wallets once they signed in to the link. Scammers often use crypto drainers because they provide an automated and quick way of emptying wallets of funds. They use this tool by first having access to the private keys of victims when they click on the phishing link.
The scammer made sure to disallow comments on the tweet, which would have also prevented many people who noticed the scam from notifying others faster. The tweet, which was viewed by close to 80,000 people and had close to 90 retweets, was taken down within an hour. Although there are some tweets from a few individuals about being hacked, there have been no official reports that anyone fell for the trap.
@miramurati Hey Mira, my wallet was just drained from a tweet you posted.
— Shilly Burdy (@smackthelipwapa) June 2, 2023
The incident raises the alarm for more vigilant practices among crypto service providers and users in the industry.
Celebrity Twitter Hacks: Disturbing Trend in the Crypto World
This is not the first time that the Twitter accounts of notable figures have been hacked. In the past year, the Twitter accounts of many famous people and crypto exchanges were hacked and tagged as one of the biggest Twitter hacks in history. The personalities involved included Elon Musk, now the owner of Twitter, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Joe Biden and exchanges like Binance and Coinbase. These attacks were also carried out using fake links.
Beyond the few cases we have mentioned here, malicious actors have made much effort to steal crypto funds. Crypto has been a major target of many cyberattacks because of its nature. Since crypto technology is still in its infancy, much must be done to protect and regulate the market. Until proper regulatory procedures are generally accepted, it may still be a haven for criminals.
