The compromised accounts all tweeted the same message, offering to “give back to the community” to people who sent Bitcoin to a specific wallet address.
The accounts of several high-profile Twitter users, including presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, billionaire Elon Musk and musician Kanye West, were hacked on Wednesday afternoon.
The accounts all tweeted similar messages offering to “give back to the community” in what appeared to be a cryptocurrency scam. They shared a Bitcoin wallet address and told Twitter users that they would double any amount sent in.
Accounts that shared the message include former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, former president Barack Obama and former New York City major Mike Bloomberg. The accounts for brands including Apple and Uber were also impacted.
Around an hour after the tweets first started appearing, Twitter Support posted, that it was aware of a security incident. “We are investigating and taking steps to fix it,” the tweet reads. “We will update everyone shortly.”
The wallet address associated with the messages is showing regular activity, indicating that some Twitter users may have fallen for the scam. According to Blockchain.com, which publicized cryptocurrency transactions, the address has received more than $110,000.
More to come.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
