An official, verified Twitter account owned by Google has become the latest to be hacked to host a crypto “giveaway” scam.
Twitter user @B_u_r_t_o_n spotted the promoted tweet on the account of Google’s productivity and collaboration tools line, G Suite, on Tuesday, and managed to post a screenshot before it was deleted by the tech giant.
The tweet had attempted to scam Twitter users via a fake giveaway offer, prompting them to “sеnd frоm 0.1 to 2 BTC tо the address bеlow and gеt frоm 1 to 20 ВTC back!”
Google and Twitter have reportedly confirmed the incident and are investigating the matter.
“This morning an unauthorized promoted tweet was shared from the G Suite account. We removed the tweet and are investigating with Twitter now,” a Google spokesperson said in a report from Business Insider.
A Twitter spokesperson was also quoted as saying that the G Suite account was “inappropriately accessed and that they would continue to closely monitor the situation.”
The news marks just the latest instance of a verified Twitter account getting compromised in order to promote crypto scams. Hacks earlier this month saw accounts held by a U.S. lawmaker, a film company and a book publisher taken over to impersonate SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk.
The account of major U.S. retailer Target was also hacked for the same purpose on Tuesday.
The company tweeted:
“Early this morning, our Twitter account was inappropriately accessed. The access lasted for approx. half an hour & one fake tweet was posted during that time about a bitcoin scam. We have regained control of the account, are in close contact with Twitter & are investigating now.”
Google image via Shutterstock