Microsoft India’s X account compromised as crypto scammers pose as ‘Roaring Kitty’

Microsoft India’s X account on Twitter recently fell victim to a hacking incident carried out by crypto scammers who impersonated ‘Roaring Kitty’, the name associated with stock trader Keith Gill. Taking advantage of Gill’s recent comeback and his influence on GameStop’s stock, which saw a 38.8% increase in shares, the perpetrators used Microsoft India’s verified account to post Roaring Kitty videos that directed users to an unverified website selling fake GameStop cryptos.
Once users accessed the phishing site, their crypto assets became vulnerable to the threat actors. The Microsoft India X account, which had over 211K followers, deleted its profile picture and account header. The last fraudulent post remains, and it is unclear if the account is still under the control of the hackers.
Experts believe that the incident may be a result of a SIM-swapping attack, a tactic often used by scammers to exploit weaknesses in two-factor authentication. In a similar incident in January, the US regulator SEC’s account was hacked to issue a fake announcement about Bitcoin ETF approvals. The breach was attributed to a SIM-swapping attack linked to an official phone number associated with the account.
Other accounts, such as those belonging to Netgear and Hyundai MEA, have also been targeted by crypto scammers who spread scams designed to infect victims with cryptocurrency wallet drainer malware.
Throughout 2024, numerous X accounts of major companies and crypto influencers have fallen victim to scams aimed at luring customers into fake promotions. In December 2023, scammers used Google Ads to target victims with counterfeit versions of popular crypto platforms, resulting in the theft of $59 million from over 63,000 victims.
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