Cybercriminals Alter Previous Trump Tweets by Inserting Falsified Nude Images of Himself
In a recent twist, cybercriminals aimed to boost their pump-and-dump scheme by hacking into Donald Trump's archived tweets. Journalist Matt Binder shed light on this crafty tactic, explaining how the scammers leveraged a glitch in URL shortening service Bitly.
By exploiting the bug, the scoundrels successfully swapped out the links in Trump's tweets with their own, leading innocent users to their memecoin website. One of the most notable hijacked posts, mentioning one of Trump's appearances on Fox News, redirected viewers to the hackers' memecoin site, complete with an image of a nude Trump being sprayed with tan.
The provocative image, while not an actual photograph of Trump, was taken as part of an art project and is years old.
Other Trump tweets also succumbed to the hack, such as a 2013 post encouraging followers to check out his Instagram. Another tweet from Melania, promoting her jewelry collection, was similarly hijacked, as reported by Binder.
Although the images still remained on Trump's timeline at the time of Gizmodo's check-up, the mischievous hackers' links were terminated, with a message reading "This link or QR code has been deactivated." Bitly was swift to acknowledge and rectify the predicament.
Considering Trump's current preoccupation with disrupting government operations and shaking up international relations, he might be too preoccupied to notice this odd incident. However, it serves as an amusing example of the cunning methods employed by enterprising crypto promoters.
Intriguingly, Trump has proclaimed himself as the United States' "first crypto president" and expressed his desire to see crypto thrive under his leadership. Based on this event, it's safe to say that crypto is indeed thriving, even in the most unexpected circumstances.
The hackers used technology and tech tools, such as exploiting a glitch in Bitly, to boost their pump-and-dump scheme. They hacked into Donald Trump's archived tweets, replacing the links with their own, leading to a memecoin website. Sean Hannity, a popular Fox News host, was among those whose posts were redirected, linking viewers to the hackers' memecoin site. Despite the termination of the hackers' links by Bitly, this incident highlights the creative methods used in the crypto world.
