ESPN baseball reporter‘s Twitter account hacked by NFT scammers
In what ESPN Main League Baseball reporter Jeff Passan referred to as the “greatest information day” of his life, scammers hijacked his Twitter account to advertise a nonfungible token (NFT) giveaway.
With the MLB and the Gamers Affiliation (MLBPA) engaged in a long-winded impasse over a labor deal that resulted in canceled video games, Passan had simply damaged information relating to an essential settlement between the 2 events in regards to the worldwide draft.
hey keep in mind that time i acquired hacked on the most important information day of my life
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 10, 2022
Nonetheless, with eyes ready on the subsequent growth from Passan, his account out of the blue began selling giveaways for the Skulltoons NFT mission. His username was additionally modified to “Jeff.eth” whereas his profile image depicted art work from the NFTs and his bio learn “NFT Fanatic, MLB Insider, Father, Husband, Mod for @skulltoonsNFT, @Azukizen, @thugbirdz.”
The tweets (which have since been deleted and salvaged by way of screenshots) famous that Passan had partnered with Skulltoons to giveaway 20 presale spots for an upcoming drop on March 20. And, in fact, folks wanted to click on on a nefarious-looking hyperlink to get an opportunity of profitable.
oh no pic.twitter.com/KpkQl1kbiG
— Alex McDaniel (@AlexMcDaniel) March 10, 2022
Following stories of the hack circulating on-line, the crew behind Skulltoons distanced themselves from the hacker’s posts as they warned the group to be cautious of scams:
“Appears to be like like Jeff Passan acquired hacked by somebody attempting to rip-off our group… We aren’t affiliated with Jeff in any capability. We hope that he’s capable of get his Twitter again ASAP.”
Appears to be like like jeffpassan acquired hacked by somebody attempting to rip-off our group as there is a drive into deep left area by Castellanos and that’ll be a homerun in order that’ll make it a 4-0 ballgame
— Shortest Cease (@ShortestStop) March 10, 2022
The hack didn’t final lengthy, with ESPN reportedly moving quick to get Passan’s account again inside two hours. To announce his return, Passan modified his Twitter background to a white picture that merely learn “I’m again,” in reference to the well-known quote from NBA icon Michael Jordan when he got here out of retirement to play for the Chicago Bulls for a second stint.
Associated: Firm auctions 1-of-1 Topps 1952 Mickey Mantle Card NFT in what often is the highest valued sports activities NFT so far
Hackers usually try and hijack in style social media accounts in a bid to dupe followers into pondering they’re seeing professional promotions from folks they assist. Cointelegraph reported in late January that dozens of YouTube accounts reminiscent of BitBoy Crypto, Altcoin Buzz, Field Mining, Floyd Mayweather, Ivan on Tech and The Moon had been hacked to advertise crypto scams.