The post Breaking Bad Star Dean Norris’ X Account Hacked to Promote $8M Memecoin Fraud appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News
A social media attack created extensive chaos across the crypto realm after Dean Norris known for his role as Hank Schrader in Breaking Bad became the next victim of X account compromise. Hackers used Dean Norris’ Twitter account to spread propaganda for $DEAN memecoin which became the focus of a standard pump-and-dump fraud.
The attackers stole compromised media content from Norris’ X account to create bogus videos and photos where he endorsed the cryptocurrency on January 26. Social media users saw Norris in a photo holding the “$DEAN” sign with its official launch date. A deepfake video appeared to humanize Norris as he verified the fictional meme token’s viability.
The blockchain tracking service DexScreener showed $8.43 million peak market capitalization for $DEAN during its peak on January 25. During that period of viral marketing, the token peaked. However, the price dropped dramatically after Norris recovered his compromised account and took a public stance against the fraudulent purpose of $DEAN.
Norris’ furious response
Norris used a video followed by social media posts to denounce the incident which he titled “I WAS HACKED!!! ALL A FAKE SCAM!!” ALL A FAKE SCAM!!” The actor pointed his anger towards Reddit users while shouting “Go [expletive] yourselves” in his message. The actor explained he doesn’t spend much time on X and first learned about the hack through his friends’ warnings.
The security breach marks one of multiple attacks aimed against Norris’ cryptocurrency accounts. Last year someone hacked his profile to promote a fake memecoin scam that utilized his identity.
The rise of celebrity account takeovers and fake crypto promotion campaigns have threatened to damage the crypto industry’s credibility to severe levels. Last week Nasdaq’s X account was compromised to promote meme coin.
The problem of determining real endorsement authenticity from fake ones has become difficult due to deepfakes alongside complex social engineering tactics.