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19/08/24
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Crypto Security Alert: Hacking Incident on Ava Labs COO’s Account Promotes Risky Memecoin
Recent developments have raised concerns regarding the potential hacking of the social media account of Ava Labs’ chief operating officer, Luigi D’Onorio DeMeo. On August 19, the account shared several posts about a newly launched Pokémon-themed memecoin known as Pika (PIKA), prompting warnings from the crypto community against clicking on any affiliated links. The posts featured links to dubious airdrops and appeared to be part of a pump-and-dump scheme.
Among the content shared, one notable post indicated an affinity for Solana, mentioning that the launch of PIKA was inspired by the popular character Pikachu. The timing of the posts coincided with a surge in interest for memecoins, leading to PIKA’s market capitalization briefly reaching approximately $388,570. However, this spike was short-lived as the token’s value plummeted by over 99%, bringing the market cap down to roughly $3,289 shortly thereafter.
Further complicating the situation, DeMeo’s account had also shared links to websites falsely claiming giveaways of Avalanche (AVAX) tokens, which urged users to connect their cryptocurrency wallets. In a precautionary measure, comments on those posts were disabled, potentially to prevent alarming users about the possible presence of malicious links, as the sites appeared to imitate Ava Labs’ branding but aimed to siphon funds from any connected crypto wallets.
Analysis from the account “REKTBuildr” suggested the attackers’ swift action in registering a fraudulent domain shortly before sharing it via DeMeo’s account. This incident highlights a troubling trend, as similar attacks have targeted numerous high-profile individuals and organizations throughout the year, including a notable breach involving actress Sydney Sweeney aimed at promoting a fraudulent crypto token. The intensity and frequency of these incidents underscore the persistent vulnerabilities within the cryptocurrency sphere.
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