Crypto Hacker Claims to Have Netted $700,000 by Hijacking McDonald’s Instagram Account

The hackers changed the McD’s Instagram handle bio to claim that they had managed to bag $700,000 (roughly Rs. 5.8 crore) from scams.

Written by Radhika Parashar, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 22 August 2024 19:35 IST

Crypto Hacker Claims to Have Netted $700,000 by Hijacking McDonald’s Instagram Account

Photo Credit: Facebook/ McDonald's

As per the crypto hacker, users were ‘rug pulled’ by ‘India_X_kr3w’

Highlights

McDonald’s Instagram handle of was hacked on August 21
As of now, no hacker or group has taken responsibility
The price of memecoin Grimace presently stands at $0.0003752

Crypto hackers, known for their relentless attacks on the sector, are now targeting popular brands and celebrities on social media to ensnare unsuspecting victims. In a recent breach, McDonald's Instagram account was hacked to promote a fraudulent memecoin called 'Grimace.' With a substantial following of 5.1 million, the fast-food giant frequently shares promotional content on the platform. McDonald's has since regained control of its account.

After the attack on August 21, hackers altered McDonald's Instagram bio to claim they had stolen $700,000 (approximately Rs. 5.8 crore) through the scam, causing alarm among the brand's 5.1 million followers.

Here's What Exactly Happened

Through tweets, blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps said that whoever breached the account, owned 75 percent of Grimace's supply through Solana memecoin deployer pump.fun.

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“The hacker used multiple addresses to buy (Grimace) on Pumpfun simultaneously, then spread into ~100 addresses. Sold for $700,000 (roughly Rs. 5.8 crore),” Bubblemaps said.

hacker owned 75% of the supply

used multiple addresses to buy on Pumpfun simultaneously, then spread into ~100 addresses

sold for $700k

thanks, @McDonalds :fries: https://t.co/Gt9yb3V3qp pic.twitter.com/ojLoiJamdy
— Bubblemaps (@bubblemaps) August 21, 2024

Screenshots of McDonald's hacked Instagram account have surfaced on X. They show hackers misinforming account followers that the scam memecoin Grimace was McDonald's experiment on Solana blockchain while promising holders of the Grimace memecoin a follow back on their accounts. Within 30 minutes of these posts being published, the market cap of Grimace rose to $25 million (roughly Rs. 20.9 crore), DexScreener's data reflected.

As per McDonald's Instagram bio changed by the hacker, users were ‘rug pulled' by ‘India_X_kr3w'. “Thankyou for the $700,000 in Solana,” the hacker noted.

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McDonald's scammed $700k

McDonald's Instagram page allegedly got hacked by someone named India_X_kr3w. They hacked the page and posted a ca of a memecoin called grimace causing its mc to pump from 30k to over 15 million and they posted a telegram link with the song Blue Bentley pic.twitter.com/utrvRt8GUr
— Paris (@ParisWifCrypto) August 21, 2024

Someone hacked McDonalds Instagram, and put information about some tokens on Solana blockchain. Beware-this is scam.
However this is the signal also that we are very, very close. pic.twitter.com/KqJVeiIpBR
— Marcin Jelec (@MarcinJelec) August 21, 2024

While some users on X are speculating that the attacker might be Indian, based on the hacker's name and the Indian flag emoji left in the hacked bio, no one from India has claimed responsibility for the breach. Therefore, it's currently unclear whether the hacker is actually linked to India.

What Happened Next

McDonald's has managed to recover its account since the hack. All posts related to the Grimace memecoin and the edited bio have been removed. As per DexScreener, the price of Grimace has dropped to $0.0003752 (roughly Rs. 0.031) since the hack.

A recent report by Web3 bug bounty platform Immunefi claimed that in the second quarter of 2024 – between April and June – crypto scams rose by 91 percent compared to the second quarter of 2023. The report said the crypto industry has lost $509 million (roughly Rs. 4,261 crore) to frauds and scams in Q2 2024.

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Further reading: Cryptocurrency, Crypto Hackers, McDonald’s, Solana

Radhika Parashar

Email Radhika

Radhika Parashar is a senior correspondent for Gadgets 360. She has been reporting on tech and telecom for the last three years now and will be focussing on writing about all things crypto. Besides this, she is a major sitcom nerd and often replies in Chandler Bing and Michael Scott references. For tips or queries you could reach out to her at RadhikaP@ndtv.com. More