Microsoft’s official account on X was hacked after unknown attackers used it to promote a cryptocurrency token called $Clippy in what appeared to be a scheme to inflate the price and then sell the assets to victims. The account, @Microsoft, has more than 13 million followers, giving the fake posts significant reach among users who trust the brand.
The incident began when Microsoft’s account followed another account named @clippymsftcto, which impersonated the virtual assistant Clippy, and then reposted one of its posts. X later suspended the impersonating account, but another account named @ClippyMSFT continued promoting the cryptocurrency token, claiming that it had a liquidity pool directly linked to Microsoft’s stock, represented by $MSFT.
Microsoft Denies Any Connection to the Token
Microsoft confirmed that access to its account had been unauthorized and that the posts appearing during the incident had not been issued by the company. The company said it had secured the account, removed the unauthorized posts, and was continuing to investigate how the hack occurred.
The company also clarified that Microsoft does not endorse any cryptocurrency or token associated with it, and that the use of the Clippy name and its intellectual property had occurred without permission. It said it would take legal action to remove the token and related materials, stressing that there was no connection between it and the project’s creators or the parties promoting it.
Why Are Hacks of Verified Accounts Dangerous?
The impact of this type of hack is not limited to publishing a fake advertisement; a verified account belonging to a well-known company can become a channel for giving false legitimacy to a financial project or directing users to websites that ask them to connect their cryptocurrency wallets. The source does not establish that assets were stolen or that malware was operated in the current Microsoft incident, but the nature of the token promotion makes caution necessary until the company completes its investigation.
The incident follows another event in June 2024, when Microsoft India’s X account, which had more than 211,000 followers, was hacked and used to promote the Roaring Kitty persona and a website that claimed to sell cryptocurrency assets linked to GameStop. The website led to the theft of users’ assets after they connected their wallets and approved transactions for a service that drained the wallets.
A Broader Context for Scams Through X
The article indicates that hacking official accounts and malicious advertisements have become recurring methods for promoting cryptocurrency scams. According to blockchain threat analysts at ScamSniffer, cybercriminals stole approximately $59 million from nearly 63,000 people during a single advertising campaign on Twitter between March and November 2023, using a wallet-draining tool known as MS Drainer.
The account of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, @SECGov, was also hacked in a SIM-swap attack and published a fake announcement about the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, causing a temporary and notable rise in the price of Bitcoin. These incidents show that control of a verified account can affect investor behavior and prices, even when the published message is fake.