Animoca Brands Warns of Compromised X account as Solana Meme Coin Scams Increase

The official statement makes clear that recent claims regarding the launch of the $ANIMOCA token or non-fungible tokens on the Solana blockchain, which was attributed to Animoca Brands, were the result of malicious activity by the hacker.

A recent string of meme coin scams on Solana has prompted Animoca Brands to issue a public notice regarding the compromise of co-founder Yat Siu’s X account.

The official statement clarifies that recent claims about the launch of the $ANIMOCA token or non-fungible tokens on the Solana blockchain, attributed to Animoca Brands, were actually the result of a hack. The investigation was first picked up by Kenta, a crypto game streamer.

It seems that the @ysiu account might have been hacked ⚠️⚠️⚠️✍️

Recently, he posted about @animocabrands launching the $ANIMOCA token on solscan.io, including a link to solscan.io for purchasing it. The chart price skyrocketed until he deleted the post. pic.twitter.com/2xHPLmRkVr

The Hong Kong-based game software company stated that there is currently no official token or NFT launch from Animoca Brands and urged users to refrain from engaging with the compromised account. Animoca Brands will provide further updates once the account is restored.

‼️🚨 Unfortunately @ysiu social media account has been compromised.

There is no official token or NFT launch from Animoca Brands. The token launch on Solana as claimed in a post was made by the hacker.

Please DO NOT engage with the account and stay vigilant.

We will provide an…

Animoca Brands Corporation was founded in 2014 by Yat Siu and David Kim. Initially focused on mobile games, the company shifted its attention to blockchain gaming and NFTs in 2018, becoming a key player in the Web3 space.

Vulnerabilities on the Solana blockchain

This isn’t the first time that a scam has been executed on the Solana blockchain. The architecture of Solana makes its users particularly vulnerable to certain types of scams.

A recent case brought by the U.S. Department of Justice highlighted this vulnerability, with the Justice Department charging two California men, Gabriel Hay and Gavin Mayo, with running NFT rug pulls on Ethereum and Solana that cost buyers over $22 million. The rug pulls involved promoting fake NFT projects like Vault of Gems and Faceless and then absconding with investors’ money. The case marks the largest NFT fraud that the DOJ has prosecuted.

In another incident, Canadian singer Drake’s account was compromised to promote Solana-based meme coin Anita.

Why is Solana vulnerable to scams?

While Solana’s architecture may be designed for efficiency, it introduces a number of risks that make it more vulnerable to scams than other networks.

The token account structure used by Solana allows attackers to use specific commands to reassign ownership of assets, rendering the funds virtually unrecoverable.

Additionally, Solana’s one-step transaction approval, compared to Ethereum’s multiphase allowance of contract functions, can result in instant and irreversible losses once a malicious transaction is authorized. The platform’s ability to group multiple sub-transactions into one approval also compounds the risk of undetected thefts.

The capacity for delaying the execution of fraudulent operations to evade alerts and surprise victims is another tactic used by scammers. This capability, known as Durable Nonce, makes the platform ripe for scams, especially when coupled with users’ lack of awareness of the operational risks of Solana.