Twitter Hackers Divert Bitcoin Spoils to Other Accounts
- Coinbase, Gemini have begun blocking payments to scam accounts
- Bezos, Musk among the prominent figures targeted by hackers
A security incident involving some of the most prominent business and political leaders on Twitter duped people into sending at least $120,000 worth of Bitcoin to an anonymous online wallet, and more than half of that total has already been spirited to other accounts, according to a Bitcoin-tracing company.
The person or people behind the scam gained access to the Twitter accounts of executives including Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos and Tesla Inc. Founder Elon Musk, asking users to direct Bitcoin to one of three different accounts, said Tom Robinson, co-founder of Elliptic, which has helped law-enforcement agencies track Bitcoin-related crime. About $65,000 of the $120,000 collected from duped users has moved to other Bitcoin addresses, one of which has been active in the past and has transacted with a U.S. exchange, Robinson said.