Fake MBAPPE Token Soars to $464M, Plummets as Hack Is Exposed

• Hackers exploited Kylian Mbappé’s Twitter to promote a scam token, resulting in substantial financial losses.
• The fraudulent MBAPPE token rapidly rose to a $464 million market cap before crashing within minutes.

Kylian Mbappé, the star footballer, recently suffered a high-profile breach when his Twitter account was stolen. The hackers used his account to spread a fake token called MBAPPE. This scam spread quickly, showing the continued weaknesses in social media platforms, particularly among celebrities with significant followings.

French football star Kylian Mbappe’s Twitter account was hacked and released the token MBAPPE, which has now been deleted. The market value of MBAPPE tokens surged to tens of millions in a few minutes and then quickly returned to zero. A user bought 2 SOL (about $286) and sold it…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 29, 2024

Rapid Surge, Swift Collapse: MBAPPE Token’s Rise and Fall

The MBAPPE token was created on the Solana blockchain, and its market cap skyrocketed to $464 million in minutes. The quick increase in value attracted a large number of investors, some of whom were ignorant of the token’s fake nature. Unfortunately, this increase was short-lived.

Within 47 seconds of reaching its high, the token’s value fell by 99%, leaving many investors with huge losses. The token’s market cap eventually settled at a meager $57,000.

Despite the fake nature of the token, some traders benefited from the scheme. One astute trader turned a $29 investment into about $125,790 in just a few minutes, correctly timing the market’s peak.

However, not everyone was as fortunate. In one especially tragic scenario, a trader purchased more than $1 million in SOL tokens, only to watch the value plummet to $14,600 in less than an hour.

This instance highlights the risks of investing in unconfirmed cryptocurrencies, particularly those offered via compromised social media accounts. It also shows the growing practice of hackers targeting high-profile people to carry out similar frauds.

The bogus tweets were finally deleted, but not before causing significant financial damage to unwitting investors.

On the other hand, highlighting fraudulent and scam activities, CNF previously reported that Binance’s collaboration with Thai and US authorities successfully took down a $277 million “pig butchering” scam.

Binance’s proactive approach to preventing cybercrime illustrates the company’s commitment to improving Web3 ecosystem security and complying with worldwide regulations.