One of the largest cyberscams was recently committed, having targeted many high profile accounts on the social media platform Twitter. Former vice president Joe Biden’s Twitter account was among those who were compromised by a cryptocurrency scam.
NBC News reports Biden’s official Twitter account was hacked by cryptocurrency or bitcoin scammers. The hacking went on for over two hours until it was shut down by Twitter, and aside from the former vice president, the accounts of former President Barack Obama, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates, Tesla, and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, as well as Warren Buffett, and Kanye West were compromised. Several high-profile brands also fell victim to the hackers: Apple, Uber, and money transfer app Cash.
Several hundred followers of these accounts were also the victims of having transferred some money. Twitter has since begun an investigation into the attacks. Over two hours since the hacking started, Twitter appeared to lock verified accounts from tweeting in the meantime, perhaps as an effort to contain the scam that was going on.
The Biden campaign released a statement saying that the tweets were removed from Biden’s account and that they are keeping in touch with the people in charge of the social media platform.
According to Authy security advocate Kelley Robinson, there is a big chance the hackers got administrative access to Twitter. This is due to the fact that it is unlikely that all of their login credentials were suddenly compromised at the same time. However, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, cryptocurrency investors, tweeted that they believe all the major Twitter accounts were compromised.
Meanwhile, users on social media noticed something different about Donald Trump’s recent conference with the press at the Rose Garden at the White House. Aside from the conference that ended up being an attack against the presumptive Democratic nominee, users noticed that Trump’s hair has become noticeably grey instead of his usual blonde.
While supporters of the president said they loved the new look, other users commented that Trump may be trying to emulate Biden. “I’m just waiting for the aviators next,” commented one user, noting Biden’s trademark sunglasses.
“He truly doesn’t understand why Biden is so ahead in the polls,” tweeted another user.