BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Obama, Biden, Gates Twitter accounts hacked in apparent Bitcoin scam

FILE – This April 26, 2017, file photo shows the Twitter app icon on a mobile phone in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

ovp test

mLife Diagnostics LLC: Oral Fluid Drug Testing

Male shot by female at Shreveport apartment

Class to create biodiverse backyard

Rules for outbursts at Caddo School Board Meeting

CHICAGO (News Nation/AP) — The Twitter accounts of several politicians, technology giants, and major companies appear to have been hacked Wednesday, in an alleged Bitcoin scam.

The bogus tweets came from accounts belonging to political figures including Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Mike Bloomberg as well as a number of tech billionaires. Among them were Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

The fake tweets offered to send $2,000 for every $1,000 sent to a Bitcoin address. Bezos, Gates, and Musk are among the 10 richest people in the world, with tens of millions of followers on Twitter.

Twitter didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment, but said it is investigating and promised an update. The FBI said it was aware of Twitter’s security breach, but declined further comment.

The apparently fake tweets were all quickly deleted.

The Bitcoin account mentioned in the fake tweets appears to have been created on Wednesday. By the end of the day, it had received almost 12.9 bitcoins, an amount currently valued at slightly more than $114,000. At some point during the day, roughly half that sum in bitcoin was withdrawn from the account.

U.S.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Clear

la

54°F Clear Feels like 54°
Wind
4 mph NW
Humidity
55%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 49F. Winds light and variable.
49°F Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 49F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
4 mph NNE
Precip
1%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Crescent