Crypto scammers breach McDonald’s Instagram account

McDonald's had its official Instagram account infiltrated and defaced by hackers to promote the GRIMACE cryptocurrency scam, which involved tokens created via the "Pump.fun" service enabling meme coin creation on the Solana blockchain, according to SiliconAngle.

Aside from modifying the account's bio to include a rug pull reference, the acquisition of $700,000 worth of Solana cryptocurrency, and the flag of India, threat actors also published posts with the caption "a McDonald's experiment on Soluna" and a cryptocurrency address. Such a scheme has catapulted GRIMACE tokens' market cap to $20 million although exposure of the scam prompted a drop to under $1 million. The infiltration of McDonald's Instagram account was regarded by EC-Council Senior Vice President Steve Graham to highlight the importance of greater cybersecurity tool and training investments among organizations. "Businesses must equip their employees with the know-how to spot and avoid scams to prevent the financial and reputational loss often associated with these types of incidents," Graham added.