McDonald’s (MCD) was recently the victim of a high-profile cyberattack in which its Instagram account was compromised. In the attack, a hacker used the account to promote a memecoin called Grimace (GRIMACE30045-USD), which is built on the Solana blockchain. The cryptocurrency is inspired by McDonald’s purple mascot of the same name.
Late Wednesday morning, posts promoting the grimace memecoin appeared on both McDonald’s Instagram page – which has around five million followers – and the personal Twitter account of Guillaume Huin, McDonald’s chief marketing officer.
Shortly after the hack, the cryptocurrency’s market capitalization rose to around $20 million before plummeting to under $1 million. The scammers presumably cashed out their winnings. The hackers even updated McDonald’s Instagram bio to thank followers for the $700,000 they had fraudulently stolen.
The hack
The hackers instructed users to invest in the Grimace token through a platform called Pump.fun, promising significant returns for relatively small investments.
They manipulated the Instagram accounts to make the posts appear authentic and used Grimace’s connection to McDonald’s to lend credibility.
Read more: What are Bitcoin ETNs?
On Huin’s Twitter account, fraudulent posts promised that GRIMACE owners who shared their Instagram names would soon be pursued by McDonald’s.
“We love and appreciate the support for Grimace,” said one of the posts, accompanied by a photo of the purple figure next to clown mascot Ronald McDonald, who is wearing a protective face shield.
The hacker may have used numerous cryptocurrency wallet addresses to purchase the majority of the Grimace token before the price surge, according to blockchain data analytics platform Bubblemaps.
According to Bubblemaps, the fraudster controlled about 75% of the token supply immediately before the hack of McDonald’s social media accounts.
When the price of the token skyrocketed, the hacker apparently sold all of his holdings, causing the value to collapse and netting him around $700,000. This type of scam is known as a “rug pull.”
Read more: Binance executive insists Bitcoin can recover despite 20 percent drop
The hacker then edited the bio section of the McDonald’s page to boast about his exploits.
What is a grimace?
The Grimace memecoin was created and launched on Pump.fun, a Solana-based platform that simplifies the creation and trading of cryptocurrency tokens.
The standout feature of Pump.fun is its automation of the technical complexities involved in creating memecoins. Users only need a catchy name, a unique symbol, and an eye-catching image to get started. This ease of use makes it accessible to both experienced crypto enthusiasts and newbies.
A memecoin is a type of cryptocurrency inspired by subcultural images, internet memes, or pop culture figures. They generally have no defined use case or intrinsic value and derive their value from the communities that promote them.
Since its launch in January 2024, Pump.fun has created over 1.8 million tokens. However, only about 30 of them have been truly successful, with values over $1 million, according to data from GeckoTerminal.
Read more: Bitcoin price recovers above $61,000 after Fed rate cut
Notable top performers include cat-themed token Michi (MICHI32044-USD), Daddy (DADDY-USD), promoted by controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate, and Mother (MOTHER-USD), backed by rapper Iggy Azalea.
Memecoins are often used in “rug pull” or “pump and dump” scams, where scammers promote the tokens on social media and dump their holdings after others participate.
Response from McDonald’s
Following the hack, the company worked with authorities to investigate the incident and identify the perpetrators. McDonald’s has also pledged to improve its cybersecurity measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
“We are aware of an isolated incident that impacted our social media accounts today. We have resolved the issue on those accounts and apologize to our fans for any offensive comments posted during this time,” McDonald’s said in a statement.
Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple And Android.
