Matthew Perry, famous actor Friendsdied in October 2023, but his X account was hacked by scammers in February 2024. They asked his fans to send them cryptocurrencies, posing as a charitable organization.
It's a strange message that was posted on the X account (formerly Twitter) of Matthew Perry, one of the main actors of FriendsFebruary 26, 2024.
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We can read there an appeal for the generosity of the public: “ Make direct donations to help us in our mission against addiction. » All this, accompanied by several crypto wallet addresses. “ We are deeply grateful for your generosity, any contribution is appreciated “, then insists the message, allegedly from the Matthew Perry Foundation.
However, the message did not really come from the Foundation: the account of the actor, who died on October 28, 2023, was hacked and diverted for the benefit of a crypto scam. The real Foundation spoke the next day, February 27, to alert Internet users of the fraud — but for hours, the message remained online, visible to the million people subscribed to the actor's account.
Crypto scams are increasing in number
Online media Protos, who was the first to talk about the hack, does not mention potential victims, but it is still plausible to think that Internet users could have fallen into the trap. A screenshot of the fake post shows that the malicious content was viewed several thousand times before being deleted.
“ We were alerted that Matthew's official X account had been hacked, and was redirecting users to fraudulent sites, soliciting cryptocurrency donations. Don't donate to these sites, and don't share them », warned the real foundation, 24 hours after the fact.
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Cryptocurrency scam attempts are very common on X, between ads announcing fake bitcoin donations, or those promoting fraudulent NFT collections. However, this message is shocking: the actor, who made himself known by playing Chandler Bing in Friends, died on October 28, 2023 in a tragic way. Matthew Perry battled addiction to alcohol and opiates for years, and reportedly died afterwards a ” excessive intake of ketamine. »
Hijacking the account of a deceased personality and using the pretext of the fight against addiction to trap Internet users is extremely indecent. However, this is not the first time that scammers have stooped to this level: in 2022, the account of videographer Reckful, who committed suicide two years earlier, was hacked to spread a bitcoin scam using the image of Elon Musk.
