Hackers Target Lucy Powell's X Account to Promote Fake Cryptocurrency

On Tuesday, hackers targeted the British political landscape by seizing control of the verified X account of Lucy Powell, the Leader of the House of Commons. The compromised account, which has nearly 70,000 followers, was used to promote a fraudulent cryptocurrency token named the “House of Commons Coin (HCC).” The posts, which included the official House of Commons logo, falsely claimed that the HCC token was a community-driven digital currency designed to empower people through blockchain technology.

The misleading messages were swiftly removed after Powell’s office confirmed the breach and took steps to secure the account. A spokesperson for the Labour minister stated that immediate action was taken to remove the deceptive posts and safeguard the account. The incident highlights a growing trend of cybercriminals exploiting the accounts of public figures to promote fake cryptocurrency projects, leveraging the trust and credibility associated with these individuals to deceive the public.

This is not an isolated incident. In recent months, several high-profile accounts have been compromised to promote bogus crypto projects. For instance, in February, the X account of Argentine lawmaker José Luis Espert was hijacked to announce the launch of “$LIBRA V2,” a project purportedly aimed at boosting the Argentine economy. The timing of this hack was particularly noteworthy, as it occurred just weeks after President Javier Milei promoted the original LIBRA token, which experienced a dramatic rise and subsequent crash, leaving many investors with significant losses.

Similarly, in the Philippines, the account of former Vice President Leni Robredo was misused to promote Solana. Robredo’s hacked posts falsely claimed her support for a “fair launch” of the cryptocurrency, prompting her to take action to regain control of her account and inform the public to disregard the fraudulent messages. These incidents underscore the ongoing threat of cybercriminals using the authority and perceived credibility of political figures to manipulate public sentiment and drive investment into worthless tokens.

Historically, such attacks have targeted some of the most influential accounts. In July 2020, hackers gained access to internal systems by compromising the accounts of Twitter employees, seizing control of high-profile accounts such as those of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos. The compromised accounts tweeted nearly identical messages promising to double any Bitcoin sent to a wallet address. In September 2020, a Twitter account used to promote an Indian national relief fund was breached, soliciting charitable donations in Ethereum. Twitter confirmed that the breach was not related to any legitimate fundraising effort, and the tweets were quickly deleted.

Just over a year later, in December 2021, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Twitter account was hacked, briefly displaying a message that India had adopted Bitcoin as legal tender and was distributing tokens to citizens. The message was promptly removed, and the account was secured. These incidents serve as a reminder of the persistent threat of cybercriminals exploiting high-profile accounts to promote fraudulent activities, underscoring the need for enhanced security measures to protect against such breaches.