It’s not too uncommon to know that your account– on any platform– can be hacked. Whether it’s because of a compromised password, or even a data leak, accounts without proper authentication can be promptly invaded.
Except, what happens when a celebrity or public figure’s account gets hacked?
Apparently, they’ll start posting about their best friend Elon Musk and getting their fans to buy cryptocurrency.
SUSPICIOUS POSTS
It was on May 5 that a curious post popped up on the Canucks’ X account. They announced the pre-sale of their very own $Canucks cryptocurrency token, which a fan could find on the Solana blockchain. Reading, “The first NHL team to ever do this,” plenty of fans were skeptical of who was making this post.
Next up was a video of Elon Musk telling all Canucks fans about new Teslas, which isn’t exactly helpful for B.C. residents nowadays. He then followed this by informing everyone that he would be offering a cryptocurrency giveaway. If you entered, you could win $20 million in crypto.
Except, this wasn’t actually Elon Musk. It was, in fact, a deep-fake of him.
As most fans had already identified, these were all scams.
A SWIFT REMOVAL
In a statement, the organization said, “Please note that the @Canucks Twitter/X account has been compromised” and that they are “working with the platform and the NHL to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
Quite quickly, the Canucks’ initial crypto scam post was deleted. And Elon Musk’s scam giveaway was also deleted not long after it was uploaded.
As of now, it is unknown as to what caused the hack in the first place. With the NHL Draft Lottery happening, and much traffic being driven to the Canucks’ social media pages, this hack has had far more eyes on it than usual.
