tl;dr
Cybercriminals, under the name "India X Kr3w," hacked McDonald's official Instagram account and promoted a fraudulent meme coin called "GRIMACE" on the Solana network, resulting in a $700,000 rug pull scam. The value of the token briefly surged to $25 million before the hackers cashed out, leaving i...
Cybercriminals struck McDonald's official Instagram account, executing a rug pull that siphoned over $700,000. These perpetrators, operating under the name "India X Kr3w," promoted a fraudulent meme coin named "GRIMACE" token on the Solana network. The token value briefly surged to $25 million before the hackers cashed out, rendering it almost worthless.
McDonald's regained control of its account, but this incident sheds light on the risks inherent in the crypto market, reflecting a broader trend. In the first seven months of 2024, the crypto sector suffered losses exceeding $1.19 billion from hacks and scams.
Guillaume Huin, McDonald’s Senior Marketing Director, also had his social media accounts breached, with false advertisements for GRIMACE posted. These misleading posts portrayed the token as an official McDonald's project on the Solana blockchain, deepening the scam's impact. Despite numerous red flags, traders pushed the GRIMACE meme coin’s trading volume over $25 million in 24 hours.
McDonald's restored control of its Instagram, deleting all content related to the fraudulent token. Nevertheless, this breach underscores the ongoing risks in the crypto market, with the sector seeing a significant increase in losses from cybercriminal activities targeting digital assets.