Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Bill Gates, Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian West, And Barack Obama's Twitter Accounts Were Hacked In A Bitcoin Scam

A tweet sent by some of Twitter's biggest accounts asked for Bitcoin and promised to "double all payments" sent to an address. It's a scam.

Twitter accounts belonging to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, former US president Barack Obama, reality star Kim Kardashian West and her husband Kanye West, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk were hacked on Wednesday to promote a bitcoin scam.


The hack is the latest breach of high-profile Twitter accounts and an evolution of a long-running scam that has persisted on the social network for the last two and a half years. Since at least the start of 2018, scammers have created fake accounts mimicking Musk, President Donald Trump, and other celebrities to lure in unsuspecting individuals to send bitcoin or other forms of cryptocurrency with the promise that they’d have their money doubled or tripled in return.

A Twitter spokesperson said that the issue was “being looked into.” Tweets promoting the scam continued to persist across various verified accounts on Wednesday afternoon. According to cryptocurrency publication CoinDesk, which also had its account hacked, some of the affected accounts had two-factory security enabled.

While previous cryptocurrency scams have tended to mimic verified Twitter users by creating accounts with similar handles, avatars, and cover photos, Wednesday’s scam was different in that the unknown hacker gained access to real accounts to proliferate their scam. The initial scam tweet promoting the fake giveaway from Musk’s account, which has nearly 37 million followers, went up at 1:17 p.m. PT.

While Musk's first tweet was removed, at least three others went up from Musk’s account promoting the same wallet. Similar messages were posted to verified accounts for Obama, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Apple, and Uber.

Hacked accounts went on to pin tweets promoting the giveaway scam to the top of verified profiles or retweet the messages. Other accounts that were hit included rappers Wiz Khalifa and the late XXXtentacion; boxer Floyd Mayweather; and billionaires Jeff Bezos, Mike Bloomberg, and Warren Buffett.


The initial bitcoin wallet address associated with the scam showed transactions on Wednesday afternoon suggesting more than $118,000 worth of the cryptocurrency had been deposited, of which about $61,000 worth of bitcoin had been removed. A second wallet that emerged in later scam tweets, suggested about $5,000 worth of bitcoin had been received, of which $2,700 had been removed.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
×