Crypto Scammers Tried To Bribe X Employees To Reinstate Suspended Accounts

Crypto scammers and other malicious actors ran a bribery network that targeted employees of the social media network X, with the goal of having suspended accounts reinstated, X said Friday.

X noted that it was taking strong action after exposing “a bribery network” by platform users linked to crypto scams, and has instituted legal proceedings. This came after the social media platform owned by Elon Musk discovered that the scammers paid middlemen in attempts to influence employees to restore suspended accounts.

“X has exposed and is taking strong action against a bribery network targeting our platform. Suspended accounts involved in crypto scams and platform manipulation paid middlemen to attempt to bribe employees to reinstate their suspended accounts,” X posted via its Global Government Affairs account.

Per the platform, the bribery network consists of individuals who exploit social media sites such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Minecraft and Roblox to scam unsuspecting users. Perpetrators of these scams and manipulation, and who are linked to the bribery scheme, have connections to known criminal organizations like “The Com”, X noted.

“Legal proceedings are underway against participants, and we’re fully supporting law enforcement,” the platform added.

The Com is among several criminal organizations that target both crypto and mainstream companies or entities. The group, also known as “The Community” or “Hacker Com,” is largely an English-speaking outfit that has been linked to various cyberattacks and breaches, including hacks of the U.S. court system.

As well as crypto hacks, bad actors have used social media to promote fake projects.

In June this year, hackers compromised the X account of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz to shill a fraudulent token. 

Similar breaches and fake token announcements have befallen X accounts of crypto platform ZKSync, Curve Finance and Jupiter. In April, crypto fraudsters seized control of a UK lawmaker’s X account and used it to promote a fake Solana token. “Breaking Bad” actor Dean Norris also said scammers took over his X account to promote an $8 million memecoin scam dubbed DEAN.