Trump family X accounts reportedly pushed a crypto scam as social hackers strike it big
.jpg)
Baitin’ the hook… with a DeFi worm. The X accounts of Lara and Tiffany Trump were reportedly hacked this week, posting links to a purported scam site that encouraged folks to connect their crypto wallets and purchase tokens. (FYI: Lara is the cochair of the RNC and Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law; Tiffany is his daughter.) The posts highlighted World Liberty Financial, an apparently real DeFi project that’s been promoted by Trump’s sons and even former Prez Trump himself.
WLF? World Liberty Financial is said to be an ethereum-based lending project that includes a new crypto token, WLFI, that would let users vote on how the project is run.
Reelin’ ’em in… Social-savvy crypto scammers have long hacked prominent X (fka Twitter) accounts to ensnare victims. In July, artist Doja Cat said her X account had been taken over to push a fake celeb coin. Even the SEC’s X account was hacked in January, in what may’ve been an attempt to move the price of bitcoin. Crypto-analytics co Chainalysis said hackers bulk-sell stolen social accounts, which are later used to scam folks out of crypto. In the first half of this year, the total value of stolen crypto funds hit $1.5B+ — up 84% on the year.
Playing coy can backfire… The Trump family’s tried to drum up excitement for WLF with breezy social-media teasers. That may’ve left the door open to scammers looking to rip off Trump supporters. It wouldn’t be the first time: in May, the Trump presidential campaign said it’d accept crypto donations, but confusion around the donation process led to scammers stealing from supporters. Still, it goes both ways: Trump’s broad and generic embrace of crypto has gained him support from the industry.