Late Monday afternoon, the official X account for OpenAI Newsroom, recently created to share product and policy updates, was hijacked by cryptocurrency scammers. The account posted a misleading announcement about a non-existent OpenAI-branded blockchain token called "$OPENAI."
In the fraudulent post, the scammers claimed, “We’re very happy to announce $OPEANAI [sic]: the gap between AI and blockchain technology,” encouraging OpenAI users to claim their share of the token's initial supply. The post falsely promised that holding "$OPENAI" would grant access to future OpenAI beta programs.
Unsurprisingly, "$OPENAI" does not exist. The post directed users to a phishing website with a misleading URL ("token-openai.com"), which mimicked the legitimate OpenAI website. A conspicuous “CLAIM $OPENAI” button urged visitors to connect their cryptocurrency wallets, likely aiming to steal login credentials and potentially drain users’ assets.
Despite the clear signs of phishing, both the post and the malicious site remained live at the time of publication. A follow-up reply from the hackers promised "further information" about the fake token later in the week. Additionally, comments on the malicious post were disabled, making the hack harder to detect at first glance.
We’ve reached out to OpenAI and X for comments but have not yet received a response.
This incident isn't isolated. OpenAI-related accounts have previously been targeted by similar phishing campaigns. In June 2023, OpenAI CTO Mira Murati's X account was also compromised, promoting the same fake "$OPENAI" crypto token. Additionally, the accounts of OpenAI Chief Scientist Jakub Pachocki and researcher Jason Wei were hacked just three months ago, with scammers posting nearly identical messages to those shared on the OpenAI Newsroom account.
According to Coinspeaker, the scammers behind Murati's hack in June used a "crypto drainer" tool. This software funneled NFTs and tokens from victims' wallets directly into the scammers’ accounts once users signed into the fake OpenAI site.
OpenAI is not the only high-profile target in the ongoing wave of cryptocurrency scams on X. Several prominent tech companies and celebrities, including Apple, Elon Musk, and Joe Biden, have had their accounts compromised in similar attacks. In a notorious 2020 hack, scammers posted a bitcoin wallet address, falsely claiming that any payments made to the address would be doubled and sent back.
Cryptocurrency scams are a growing concern, with Americans losing $5.6 billion to such schemes in 2023—a 45% increase compared to 2022, according to the FBI. The year 2024 is shaping up to be equally troubling, with over 50,000 scams reported in the first half of the year alone, costing consumers close to $2.5 billion, per the FTC.
As cryptocurrency scams become increasingly sophisticated, both tech companies and users need to remain vigilant to prevent falling victim to these fraudulent schemes.
