OpenAI’s official press account on X has reportedly been hacked by cryptocurrency scammers, who have previously targeted the company’s leadership. The newly created OpenAI Newsroom account posted an announcement about a fictional OpenAI-branded blockchain token, “$OPENAI,” claiming it would bridge AI and blockchain technology.
The misleading post stated, “We’re very happy to announce $OPENAI: the gap between AI and blockchain technology. All OpenAI users are eligible to claim a piece of $OPENAI’s initial supply. Holding $OPENAI will grant access to all of our future beta programs.” However, $OPENAI is a scam; the post linked to a phishing website designed to imitate the official OpenAI site, featuring the dubious URL “token-openai.com.” A prominent “CLAIM $OPENAI” button on the fake site urged users to connect their cryptocurrency wallets, likely aiming to steal their login credentials.
As of this writing, both the scam post and the phishing site remain active, with a repost and reply suggesting more information would be available later in the week. Comments on the malicious post have been disabled, obscuring the hack’s visibility.
This incident isn’t an isolated event; OpenAI has been a target of similar scams in the past. In June 2023, OpenAI CTO Mira Murati’s account was similarly compromised, promoting the fictional $OPENAI token. In July, accounts belonging to OpenAI chief scientist Jakub Pachocki and researcher Jason Wei were hacked and used to share identical scam messages.
According to Coinspeaker, the scammers previously utilized a “crypto drainer” tool that siphoned NFTs and tokens from victims’ wallets once they logged into the fake OpenAI site. High-profile accounts from tech companies and celebrities have also been targeted in recent years for similar scams. A notorious example from 2020 involved hackers hijacking accounts from Apple, Elon Musk, and Joe Biden to promote a bitcoin wallet scam.
The FBI reported that Americans lost $5.6 billion to cryptocurrency scams in 2023, marking a 45% increase from the previous year. The trend shows no signs of slowing, with over 50,000 scams reported in the first half of 2024, costing consumers nearly $2.5 billion, according to the FTC.
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