Violet Vallaya
Actor Tom Holland’s social media account was hacked by crypto scammers, who used his platform to promote a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme. The incident occurred on April 16 when the attackers hijacked the Spiderman actor’s X account, which boasts over 7 million followers.
The Scam
The hackers’ tweet announced an unlikely partnership between Holland and Binance, the world’s largest digital asset trading platform. According to the now-deleted post, the collaboration aimed to launch a Spider-Verse-themed cryptocurrency.
Fans were encouraged to register for early access to the $SPIDER token and Spiderverse’s non-fungible tokens (NFTs) via a link to “spiderverse.app.” The scam link was even added to Holland’s account bio, further convincing potential investors of its legitimacy.
Marvel, the studio behind the Spider-Man franchise, swiftly confirmed that Holland’s account had been compromised. They clarified that the actor had no involvement in the post. The incident raised concerns about the security of celebrity social media accounts, especially since Holland had never previously promoted crypto or engaged with NFTs.
A Familiar Pattern
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time bad actors have targeted high-profile accounts to promote crypto scams. Earlier this year, Mandiant, a cybersecurity firm owned by Google, fell victim to a similar attack. Hackers exploited their accounts to promote fake crypto investment opportunities, siphoning around $900,000 in digital assets.
In another incident, the account of game developer Activision Blizzard was used to deceive followers into investing in a meme coin.
Since the hack, Holland has maintained a low profile on social media. Fans eagerly await updates on whether the actor will take additional security measures to protect his online presence.
