House of Commons leader Lucy Powell’s Twitter/X account was hacked by scammers promoting a fake Parliamentary coin – the latest in a string of cases targeting well known figures
Hackers targeted the leader of the House of Commons with a string of sinister scam posts.
Lucy Powell’s Twitter/X account was bombarded with messages about fake coins on Tuesday morning. The posts, which were swiftly deleted, carried the House of Commons logo as they plugged a fraudulent “House of Commons Coin”. Shortly after the first post was deleted another sinister advert – this time containing a photo of the Labour frontbencher – appeared on Ms Powell’s timeline.
By 11am there were 19 consecutive posts on her timeline advertising cryptocurrency – all of which were taken down within seconds. A spokeswoman for the House of Commons leader said: “Lucy Powell’s personal X account was hacked this morning. Steps were taken quickly to secure the account and remove misleading posts.”
It is the latest in a spate of scams which have seen high-profile figures have their social media accounts compromised. In January journalist Laura Kuenssberg was targeted by hackers plugging a fake BBC coin as experts warn this type of fraud is becoming more common.
The first post on Ms Powell’s account, which was swifly taken down, promised: “Transparency. Participation. Trust.” Around half an hour later a second advert appeared on her timeline. Minutes later a series of similar messages appeared, with almost 20 visible at one point.
A statement from the House of Commons said: “UK Parliament takes cyber security extremely seriously. We provide advice to users – including Members – to make them aware of the risks and how to manage their digital safety, however we do not comment on specific details of our cyber security policies”.
Hackers have targeted celebrities to promote fake coins, often raking in millions of pounds. In December rapper Drake’s Twitter/X posted a fraudulent advert pushing a memecoin called $ANITA. According to reports in the US, the scam generated $5 million before being removed.
Other high profile victims have included French footballer Kylian Mbappé and BBC journalist Nick Robinson. According to research group Merkel Science, fans of Mbappé invested over $1million before realising the post was a scam.
The research group said celebrities are often picked because of their “dedicated fan bases who may be more likely to trust and act on their crypto-related endorsements”.