Twitter accounts have been a prone target for hackers and criminals. This is especially problematic when that Twitter account has some clout, so to speak. Obtaining a celebrity’s account is one thing, but hijacking a cryptocurrency’s Twitter handle can have major consequences as well. The Vertcoin account was seemingly hijacked yesterday, although things have returned to normal ever since.
It remains unclear what went wrong with the Vertcoin Twitter account. While it was clearly controlled by someone else, there is still no official explanation. One mysterious tweet was sent out by the hijacker. In this message, he or she effectively attempt to trick users into sending Bitcoin to a specific address. The message has gotten a lot of attention, even though it was clearly fake.
Vertcoin Twitter Account Briefly on the Fritz
There’s no reason for the Vertcoin team to give away 10 Bitcoin. Not because of the steep amount, but mainly because they would rather do so in VTC. Promoting the native currency always takes priority in this regard. Moreover, the team would never organize such a shady contest either. A giveaway means giving money away, rather than asking people to contribute.
This type of scam has been making the rounds for some time now. A lot of Twitter accounts try to trick cryptocurrency users into partaking in these shady giveaways. Although it remains unclear how successful they are, it is a pretty popular business model. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely we will see fewer of these scams in the future.
For now, no real damage has been done. It doesn’t appear someone fell for this scam. Moreover, the VertCoin Twitter account has been restored, which is a positive sign. Until we know what happened exactly, there’s little point in speculating. We can only hope the team ensures such activity will not happen again in the future.
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