KuCoin, a popular cryptocurrency exchange, experienced a breach in its Twitter account, which resulted in scammers stealing approximately 8.7 ETH (around $16,000) and 0.235 BTC (about $6,500) from users. The security incident occurred on April 24 (UTC+2), lasting for about 45 minutes, during which fraudulent activity was posted from the compromised @kucoincom handle.
The exchange has assured users that it will fully reimburse all verified asset losses caused by the social media breach and the fake activity. It is important to note that only KuCoin's Twitter account was compromised in this incident, and the platform acted quickly to regain control of the account with the help of Twitter's official support. KuCoin has reiterated that users' assets on the platform remain secure.
1/ The @kucoincom handle was compromised for about 45 mins from 00:00 Apr 24 (UTC+2). A fake activity was posted and unfortunately led to asset losses for several users. KuCoin will fully reimburse all verified asset losses caused by the social media breach and the fake activity.
— KUCOIN (@kucoincom) April 24, 2023
As of 2:00 a.m. on April 24 (UTC+2), 22 transactions involving ETH/BTC associated with the fake activity were identified, totaling a value of 22,628 USDT. In an effort to prevent more users from being affected, KuCoin is currently examining and blocking suspicious addresses connected to the fraudulent activity.
To further enhance the security of its social media accounts, the KuCoin team plans to implement additional protective measures alongside Twitter's existing 2FA. The exchange is also working closely with Twitter to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the incident to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
KuCoin will continue to keep users informed of the progress of the investigation. In the meantime, users are advised to be cautious and avoid opening any links impersonating the kucoin.com domain in order to safeguard themselves. Additionally, users should stay vigilant when interacting with official accounts of other exchanges on Twitter, as they might become targets of hackers too.
Alex Dovbnya
