Animoca Brands Co-Founder Targeted in Social Media Hack Promoting Fake Solana Token

A security breach occurred at Animoca Brands, a leader in blockchain gaming, when co-founder Yat Siu’s X (previously Twitter) account was compromised. A fake Solana (SOL) token launch was promoted as a result of the attack, tricking followers into thinking it was the company’s genuine announcement.

Hackers Exploit Yat Siu’s Account for Fake Token Promotion

In a series of posts, Animoca Brands clarified that the launch promoted on Solana was not affiliated with the company. “Unfortunately Yat Siu’s social media account has been compromised. There is no official token or NFT (non-fungible token) launch from Animoca Brands. The token launch on Solana as claimed in a post was made by the hacker. Please DO NOT engage with the account and stay vigilant. We will provide an update when the account is restored,” the company stated. The breach alarmed the community, but Animoca swiftly took action to address the situation.

The fake launch claimed to be linked to Mocaverse (MOCA), an NFT collection developed by Animoca. However, the company reassured followers that no official token was being released. “We have confirmation that X has secured control of Yat Siu’s account and is now in the process of verifying true account ownership,” Animoca explained in another update. The company emphasized that there were no security compromises within its official networks, including Animoca Brands and the MOCA Foundation.

In response to the incident, Animoca reassured its community by announcing strengthened security protocols. “There is no compromise on Animoca Brands, Moca Network or MOCA Foundation official handles, and there are strict security measures in place,” they confirmed. Additionally, all key personnel and accounts have updated their authentication processes to prevent similar attacks.

Blockchain investigator ZackXBT suggested that Siu might have fallen victim to a phishing scam, similar to incidents targeting other executives in the blockchain sector. “Yat Siu (co-founder of Animoca) likely fell for the same phishing email a few hours ago as the scam token was deployed by the same address as the Kick and Vanar CEO ATOs,” ZackXBT noted.