BREAKING: ‘Hackers’ goal House of Commons chief Lucy Powell in sinister rip-off
Hackers appear to have targeted the leader of the House of Commons with a string of 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. The Mirror has contacted Ms Powell and the House of Commons for comment.
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.
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.
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 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”.
