Coingecko’s X Accounts Compromised to Announce Fake Token Airdrop

Hackers briefly took over the official X accounts of major crypto data aggregator Coingecko to promote a fake token launch and airdrop.

The Coingecko incident became the second X hack within 24 hours after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s account was also compromised. 

• Coingecko announced the news of the hack in an X post on Jan. 10, warning users not to click or engage any suspicious links. The platform further said it would carry out investigations and secure its X accounts. 

Our Twitter accounts @CoinGecko and @GeckoTerminal have been compromised. We’re taking immediate steps to investigate the situation and secure our accounts.

Please DO NOT click on any links or engage with suspicious content. Your security is our top priority.

We’ll keep you…

— CoinGecko (@coingecko) January 10, 2024

• The compromised tweet, already deleted, announced the rollout of a token called GCKO, with the post directing users to a link to claim airdrops of the token to celebrate the launch. 
• However, some users appeared to have interacted with the scam link, reporting lost funds as a result. Some others wondered if Coingecko implemented two-factor authentication (2FA) that may have prevented the hack from happening. 
• The latest incident comes on the heels of a recent hack involving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
• As previously reported by CryptoPotato, the SEC announced on X the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications, an announcement that sent the price of Bitcoin (BTC) to over $47,600.
• But shortly after the tweet, SEC chairman Gary Gensler said the agency’s X account was compromised, and the news was fake, with BTC’s price falling to around $45,000 in response. 
• While there were speculations that the hack was an inside job, a preliminary investigation by X Safety revealed that it happened because an “unidentified individual” took control of a phone number associated with the agency’s account via a third party. 
• Also, the SEC did not set up a 2FA for its X account, with the lack of proper security measures drawing heavy criticism from the crypto community.