“Shark Tank” co-host and investor Kevin O’Leary’s Twitter account @kevinolearytv was hacked earlier today.
O’Leary’s account posted a pinned tweet, which was pushing a shady Bitcoin BTC/USD and Ethereum ETH/USD giveaway with a dubious link to click on.
The hackers continued to manipulate the TV star’s account, promoted the giveaway and protested it had not been hacked.
The @kevinolearytv account said in a deleted tweet: “My accounts was not hacked! Last night I said on TV that I was going to do a giveaway. Enjoy.”
In another tweet the scammers wrote: “This giveaway is not FAKE and is not SCAM. My accounts was not hacked !!!”
You have to grant them, they were persistent.
The syntax and frequency of tweets raised suspicions, as well as the very suspect-looking offer.
O’Leary confirmed his account was hacked.
In exclusive comments to Benzinga, O’Leary said, “'I am very grateful for the Twitter team for quickly reacting to the situation.”
O’Leary’s thoughts on the bad actors in the incident were less magnanimous.
Referring to the hackers, O’Leary said: “These are the people who are hurting the crypto industry. I will be working with law enforcement. I have a message to the hackers. I am coming for you! You got the wrong guy. I will make your lives very interesting!"
O’Leary was a keynote speaker along with Anthony Scaramucci at Benzinga's Future of Crypto summit in New York City on Dec. 7. At the event, they discussed their ill-fated investments in FTX FTT/USD and the future prospects of crypto.
O’Leary stressed the need for a clear regulatory framework in the U.S. in order to protect investors. “When those things get cleared up it will likely be 10 coins, and I’ll invest in all of them, the rest are as they say sh*tcoins, and they’ll go to zero,” O’Leary said.
Photo: Courtesy "Shark Tank"
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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