By Cryptonew.org 
McDonald’s recently fell victim to a significant cybersecurity breach on its official Instagram account, leading to a $700,000 cryptocurrency scam. On August 21, 2024, hackers, who identified themselves as “India X Kr3w,” took control of McDonald’s Instagram page, which has over 5 million followers, and used it to promote a fraudulent cryptocurrency named after the fast-food chain’s mascot, Grimace.
The hackers quickly posted a message claiming that McDonald’s was launching an official cryptocurrency called the “GRIMACE” token, which was supposedly based on the Solana blockchain. The scam was highly effective due to the trust and credibility associated with McDonald’s brand, which led to a surge in the token’s value to an estimated $25 million within just 30 minutes. However, this rapid rise was short-lived. The hackers soon executed a “rug pull,” a common tactic in the crypto world where the creators of a cryptocurrency drain its liquidity, causing the token’s value to plummet and leaving investors with worthless assets. By the time the scam was exposed, the hackers had managed to steal around $700,000
The breach not only affected McDonald’s main Instagram account but also targeted the account of Guillaume Huin, McDonald’s Senior Marketing Director. Posts on his and the corporate account falsely claimed the legitimacy of the GRIMACE token, further encouraging followers to invest in what was ultimately a scam. This added an air of authenticity that likely contributed to the large-scale success of the fraud
McDonald’s responded quickly after regaining control of its social media accounts, removing all traces of the scam and issuing an apology to its followers for any offensive content that had been posted during the hack. The company emphasized that this was an isolated incident and assured that the situation had been resolved .
This event underscores the growing risks associated with the intersection of social media and cryptocurrency, as well as the importance of robust cybersecurity measures. It also highlights the vulnerability of even the most well-established brands to cyberattacks, especially when combined with the speculative nature of the cryptocurrency market .
This incident serves as a cautionary tale for both businesses and individuals, illustrating the need for vigilance in the digital age. The rapid execution and large-scale impact of this scam make it one of the more notable cyber incidents involving a major global brand in recent times.
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