Scammers posing as Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently launched a fraudulent cryptocurrency, taking advantage of the growing retail interest in celebrity-backed memecoins.
The scam, which surfaced on February 17, was promoted through a now-deleted X (Twitter) post by the account SaudiLawConf, falsely claiming to be associated with the Saudi leader.
What was the Scam?
The so-called “Official” Saudi Arabia memecoin (KSA) attempted to lure investors by capitalizing on the country’s financial influence and the reputation of its Crown Prince. However, there were immediate red flags.
Unlike legitimate national cryptocurrency projects, there was no official government communication, no clear tokenomics, and no transparency about its purpose or functionality.
Hacked X Account Behind the Fake Memecoin
Shortly after the fraudulent token was launched, it was revealed that the SaudiLawConf account had been compromised. The actual owners of the account, the Saudi Law Conference, confirmed the hack in a February 17 LinkedIn post, clarifying that the misleading posts did not reflect their views or official positions.
“The conference management announces that the official conference account on the X platform (SaudiLawConf) has been hacked and that any content currently published through the account does not represent our opinions or official orientations in any way,” the statement read.
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The revelation confirmed that scammers had hijacked a credible X account to fabricate legitimacy for their fraudulent token. The incident highlights the increasing use of compromised social media accounts to push fake crypto projects.
Growing Trend of X Account Hacks Used for Crypto Scams
The Saudi Arabia memecoin scam is part of a disturbing trend where hackers target high-profile X accounts, particularly those belonging to business leaders, politicians, and major institutions, to promote fake cryptocurrencies.
Recently, the X account of Shaw, founder of AI16Z, was compromised, and scammers used it to promote a phony Eliza scam link, deceiving unsuspecting users into clicking fraudulent links under the pretence of an AI-related crypto project.
Even major financial institutions have not been spared. The official Nasdaq X account was recently hacked and used to promote a fraudulent memecoin called STONKS.
The hacker leveraged the account’s credibility, linking a fake affiliate account to Nasdaq before retweeting scam posts to increase the token’s visibility.
These incidents highlight the urgent need for stronger security measures on X, as hackers continue to exploit verified or credible accounts to promote fraudulent schemes. Investors must exercise caution and verify official sources before trusting any cryptocurrency project associated with well-known figures or institutions.
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