John Deaton, the prominent cryptocurrency lawyer known for his support of Ripple-affiliated digital token XRP, has fallen victim to a cyberattack, leading to the hacking of his Twitter account. The lawyer's phone had been compromised after "a relentless cyberattack over several days."
The alleged hackers attempted to leverage Deaton's reputation and influence in the crypto world by announcing a new digital token named "LAW."
The fraudulent tweet from Deaton's account unveiled $LAW as "the official token derived directly from CryptoLaw." It further elaborated that the token introduces an innovative approach to decentralized finance (DeFi) and tokenization, focused on cryptocurrency regulation and jurisdiction. As part of the deceit, followers were encouraged to claim LAW via a linked website.
Tomiwabold OlajideThe news was swiftly rebutted by CryptoLaw, the organization with which Deaton is closely affiliated. The team declared that Deaton's account had been hacked, asserting that the tweet advertising LAW was not legitimate.
They also warned followers not to follow any links from Deaton's account and to disregard all communications from it until further notice. Deaton, they added, was taking immediate steps to rectify the situation.
The hacking incident underscores the ongoing security challenges faced by high-profile figures in the crypto world. This is particularly true on social media platforms like Twitter, which have often been exploited by bad actors seeking to scam followers.
As for Deaton, his supporters remain hopeful that he will regain control of his account swiftly, including attorney Jeremy Hogan who predicted, "Karma will get the hackers. Don't you worry..."
Arman Shirinyan
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin