Sam Altman OpenAI X Account Breached In Crypto Scam Attack
Sam Altman’s OpenAI X account was compromised on Monday in an attempt to conduct cryptocurrency fraud. Hacker impersonated OpenAI and sent out a message advertising a new fake token named $OPENAI, and lured the audience into visiting a phishing page to input their credentials for their crypto wallets.
OpenAI X Account Hacked in Cryptocurrency Scam
According to OpenAI, the hack affected its newsroom on X (previously Twitter), the account that is used to publish company-related information. The fake tweet claimed that a new blockchain token called “$OPENAI” had been launched, which is not true and has no connection with OpenAI.
The message stated that all OpenAI users would be able to get a share of the token to provide early access to the upcoming beta versions.
This hack is the latest in a series of similar incidents that has targeted OpenAI accounts on X. In the last few months, even OpenAI top employees such as Chief Scientist Jakub Pachocki or researcher Jason Wei have also had their accounts hacked and used to promote similar cryptocurrency scams.
Details of the Phishing Scam
The fraudulent post appeared on the @OpenAINewsroom account around 6:24 PM ET. It had several mistakes, among which the improper name of Sam Altman’s OpenAI was used: $OPEANAI, and the link led to the phishing site which imitated the OpenAI website.
The site had a button that read “CLAIM $OPENAI” which was intended to trick users into linking their cryptocurrency accounts. The post had no comment section, which made it more difficult to recognize the fraud for the users. As much as the post was deleted it remained visible for almost an hour and could have been seen by many followers.
Such scams as this one commonly attempt to collect user credentials and, consequently, give the attackers access to the users’ cryptocurrency portfolios. Connecting wallets to the fake websites can lead to loss of funds or exposure of personal information.
Previous Incidents of OpenAI Account Breaches
This recent hacking of Sam Altman’s OpenAI X account is not the first of its kind. Over the past year, OpenAI has been a victim of cybercrimes where scams have attempted to impersonate company officials on various platforms. In June 2023, for instance, OpenAI’s Chief Technology Officer, Mira Murati, also had her account hacked. Similarly, her account uploaded a fake cryptocurrency scam which was similar to the one that was posted on the OpenAI newsroom account.
These incidents are not new to X and other organizations of such stature as the World Health Organisation and Yahoo News UK have also fallen prey to cyberciminals. In particular, the cybercriminals use these breaches to trick the respective victims into various fake cryptocurrency investment schemes such as pump and dump.
Subsequently, Sam Altman’s OpenAI has acknowledged the breach and is investigating the incident. The company urged users to remain cautious and avoid interacting with suspicious posts or links that claim to offer cryptocurrency giveaways.
Advanced Voice mode seems to be confirmed to be releasing to a select number of users this Tuesday, September 24, 2024! pic.twitter.com/XJa2o4HIaJ
— “Brian” (@Arktophylaxxx) September 23, 2024
Despite the recent security issues, OpenAI is moving forward with its latest innovations. The company is set to launch an advanced voice mode for ChatGPT, offering users enhanced voice interaction capabilities. This new feature aims to improve accessibility and expand the ways users can engage with the AI assistant.
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