- The MBAPPE scam exploited footballer Kylian Mbappé’s fame, causing massive investor losses.
- July 2024 saw hacks dominate crypto losses, overshadowing fraud.
In a shocking incident that took place on the 29th of August, the crypto community was rattled by a scam involving the memecoin MBAPPE.
Hackers took control of French soccer star Kylian Mbappé’s X (formerly Twitter) account to falsely promote the token.
The scheme deceived investors, including one who invested 7,156 SOL (around $1.03 million).
Its aftermath
However, the excitement quickly turned into a nightmare as the coin’s value plunged to just $9,200 within an hour, wiping out nearly the entire investment.
Lookonchain exposed the scam by sharing details on X, revealing how the fraudulent scheme unfolded.
“This person lost more than $1M in just 1 hour!”
Source: Lookonchain/X
Shocked by the sudden news, X user Sweep said,
“Something here isn’t adding up. I’m guessing they had access to everything. Lp maybe not burnt or tokens could be minted or freeze auth not enabled idk.”
How was the scam executed?
The MBAPPE scam revealed the dangers of exploiting celebrity names for fraudulent schemes.
Created using the user-friendly Pump.fun platform, the token’s value briefly surged due to false promotions linked to soccer star Kylian Mbappé.
While many investors lost significant sums as the coin’s value plummeted, a few savvy traders managed to achieve substantial gains.
One investor turned $29 into $125,000 in minutes, while another made $200,000 by selling at the coin’s peak.
This incident underscores the persistent risks associated with meme coins, revealing how easily high-profile accounts can be compromised to mislead investors.
Rise in crypto scams
The MBAPPE scam is not an isolated case; similar incidents have occurred in recent months.
For example, on the 26th of June, Metallica’s X account was hacked to promote a Solana [SOL] token labeled METAL.
The next month, rapper Doja Cat’s account was exploited to advertise a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme, resulting in over $1.6 million in investor losses.
Thereby, highlighting the surge in cryptocurrency scams, ImmuneFi’s recent report on “Crypto Losses in July 2024” also revealed that hackers have already stolen over $1.2 billion in 2024.
“In total, we have seen a loss of $1,190,379,330 to hacks and rug pulls in 2024 YTD across 149 specific incidents. This represents a 16.3% increase when compared with the same period in 2023 at $1,023,463,722.”
Source: ImmuneFi
In fact, July 2024 saw hacks as the leading cause of crypto losses, overshadowing fraud.
Analysis showed that while fraud constituted a mere 1.1% of the losses, hacks were responsible for a staggering 98.9% of the total losses during the month.
Source: ImmuneFi
