On Tuesday, two members of the Trump family got their social media accounts on X hacked as part of a sophisticated cybersecurity incident that sought to take advantage of their large followings to scam users.
The hack took place at 8:15 p.m. ET and caught the followers of Lara Trump (Eric Trump’s wife), co-chair of the Republican National Committee, and Tiffany Trump, daughter of former President Donald Trump, off guard as the two accounts published suspicious posts promoting a crypto project.
The cyber criminals who took control of the accounts made false announcements about the launch of a project called “World Liberty Financial” – a crypto venture that other members of the family had been teasing for weeks – and included links that they claimed were the “only official channels” of the project.
The links took users to a website that promoted a crypto asset that was allegedly tied to the new Trump-backed project. However, the whole thing was just an elaborate scam.
The fraudulent website was registered to an anonymous domain hosting platform based in a fiscal paradise, which made it virtually impossible to track who was behind the fake World Liberty Financial.
The hackers used Solana-based protocols to mint a digital asset whose ticker symbol was $WL and promoted it as the official Trump-endorsed token of the project.
X Moderators and Other Trump Family Members Quickly Warned Users
One of Donald Trump’s sons, Eric Trump, who is also the husband of Lara, one of the victims of the hack, quickly posted on X to alert users about the hack.
“This is a scam!!! @LaraLeaTrump and @TiffanyATrump’s Twitter profiles have been compromised!!” His actions helped mitigate the damage made by the false posts.
Meanwhile, platform moderators and X staff members responded rapidly to the incident. Eric praised X’s security team as they were able to lock up the account just minutes after they were informed of the breach.
In addition, World Liberty Financial, the legitimate (though unreleased) Trump family crypto venture, quickly issued a statement on its official X account: “ALERT: Lara’s and Tiffany Trump’s X accounts have been hacked. Do NOT click on any links or purchase any tokens shared from their profiles. We’re actively working to fix this, but please stay vigilant and avoid scams!”
All of the fraudulent posts, including Eric Trump’s warning, were later on deleted from the platform. However, screenshots of the incident had already been captured to preserve evidence of the hack.
The incident briefly affected the cryptocurrency market, with the price of Solana (SOL) dropping by 9% immediately after the fake posts before recovering to around $126. This spike in volatility highlights the potential for such scams to cause real financial damage, even if they are short-lived.
The Trump Family Has Turned into Notable Crypto Supporters Lately
The hack of these two Trump family X accounts was well timed by the scammers. The Trumps have been teasing the launch of a crypto project that they promise will revolutionize the banking industry by providing the unbanked with access to financial services.
Former President and Republican candidate for the upcoming elections, Donald Trump, has publicly endorsed the project on social media and has been positioning himself as the most crypto-friendly contender.
In a recent speech at the 2024 Bitcoin Conference, Trump announced that he will work to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve to make sure the United States stays at the forefront of financial innovation.
Moreover, he has promised to endorse and push forward comprehensive regulatory frameworks for the space, which has remained largely unregulated and constantly targeted by Democrats, including officials from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
His campaign was the first in America’s history to receive crypto donations and he has also received proceeds from the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to finance his political ambitions.
First Details of World Liberty Financial Are Leaked to the Press
Both Eric and Donald Trump Jr., have been promoting World Liberty Financial through their social media and interviews with top media outlets but have provided scarce details about the project. Thus far, they claim that it will be a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that will facilitate borrowing and lending activities for millions.
However, reports have started to circulate that shed more light on the details of the project. According to CoinDesk’s journalists, it appears that the ticker symbol of the official World Liberty Financial token will be $WLFI.
The report highlighted that an unusually high 70% of the token’s total supply would reportedly go to insiders who have been involved with the project. This sparked some degree of controversy and skepticism among crypto enthusiasts as it tilts the balance in favor of people and effectively neutralizes the core benefits of decentralization.
However, in a statement sent to the news outlet, officials from the project emphasized that they have not yet finalized the details of the project’s tokenomics.
“The team is working with a lot of contributors, and we’re not quite sure which version [of the white paper] you are referring to at the moment, but they have not finalized their tokenomics yet,” the statement reads.
Aside from WLF, Trump and his family have been linked in previous instances with other crypto assets and meme coins. None of them have confirmed if these ties have been true, and many of those projects have resulted in huge losses for investors as they turned out to be rug pulls. Some of the most notable examples include a token named DJT and another one called Restore the Republic (RTR).
The Nascent Image of World Liberty Financial Could Be Hurt by The Incident
The Lara and Tiffany account hacks highlight the risks that celebrities face right now considering the ease with which digital assets can be created through platforms like the Solana-based pump.fun protocol.
Hackers aim to take advantage of their large followings and credibility to make easy money by scamming fans and supporters of these public figures and the anonymity provided by the blockchain can help mask the perpetrators – especially if they are based in jurisdictions where law enforcement agencies don’t have the resources (or the willingness) to bring them to justice.
This incident and the latest rumors concerning World Liberty Financial may have endangered the project’s success as it is being tainted and harmed before it has the chance to go live.
Meanwhile, Trump critics highlight that his alleged association with several crypto scams – even if those ties are unconfirmed or untrue – could damage his credibility.
The high-profile nature of this hack, combined with the involvement of a presidential candidate’s family, may lead to more in-depth investigations from law enforcement agencies to make sure that this is not part of a larger conspiracy aimed at hurting the former president’s image.
As the 2024 presidential election approaches and the crypto industry’s influence in politics grows, these incidents will likely be a talking point among voters and may sway them to vote for one candidate or the other.
The event reminds both public figures and everyday users of social media and cryptocurrency that they should stay informed and implement the best security practices to avoid falling prey to scam artists.