Hackers Take Over McDonald's Social Media Page to Shill and Dump Fake Memecoin Based on Grimace Character

In the vast world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies where token-related scams are rife, hackers took over a food chain giant's social media page to shill

Hackers took over fast food chain giant McDonald's Instagram account Wednesday to shill and ultimately dump a fake memecoin based on the Grimace character made popular by the food behemoth.

Social media users quickly noticed the exploiters' posts on the official Instagram account of McDonald's, showing how the hackers promoted the fake Grimace-based token. In one post, a photo of the purple mascot Grimace was uploaded with a caption that included a link directing followers to the fake memecoin. The project was being shilled as "a McDonald's experiment on Solana."

In another post, the exploiters changed the account's bio with offensive language and a claim that memecoin investors have "just been rug pulled." The hackers thanked supposed investor-victims "for the $700,000 in Solana."

“Mcdonald’s Instagram was hacked. The hacker launched a coin (GRIMACE) then rugpulled buyers for $700k. Then left the a wild note in the bio.

Between this hack and TikTk trend of people pretending to die after drinking the Grimace Shake, think it’s time to retire this character.”

After news of the hacking broke, on-chain data tracker and blockchain visual maker Bubblemaps said the exploiters "owned 75% [of the fake token's] supply" and used multiple addresses to buy on memecoin factory Pumpfun "simultaneously." The coins were then spread across 100 digital addresses and sold for $700,000.

“hacker owned 75% of the supply used multiple addresses to buy on Pumpfun simultaneously, then spread into ~100 addressessold for $700k

thanks, @McDonalds 🍟”

McDonald's said in a statement that it was "aware of an isolated incident that impacted our social media accounts earlier today," adding that it has "resolved the issue on those accounts and apologize to our fans for any offensive language posted during that time," as per the New York Post.

It is unclear whether McDonald's is working with authorities to track down the exploiters. The food chain did not immediately respond to International Business Times' request for comment.

Crypto users have reacted to news about the latest targeting of a huge company. Trader Karan Singh Arora said "some people never learn," referring to the many rug pulling incidents in the memecoin sector.

“RUG SEASON IS BACK⚠️

This Scammer just made $700,000 in few hours using McDonalds account.‼️

The McDonald’s, $MCD, instagram was hacked, where it pumped and dumped a #solana altcoin.

I don’t know how crypto bros keep falling for this.

McDonalds account posts a token and you…”

A crypto rug pull is a type of exit scam wherein the project's creator suddenly vanishes once they take money that investors put into the token. One user said it might have been an "inside job." There were reports that it appears McDonald's marketing director Guillaume Huin's account may have been hacked as well, since there was also a post about the scam $GRIMACE memecoin.

One user said the memecoin sector is becoming "pretty poisonous," while another said it was such an "obvious" scam from the get go.

"Some people are just asking to get scammed. It's an obvious pump and dump from the get go and they still go ahead and buy the token being promoted by a fast food chain's social media account. What did they expect?"

"Memecoins are getting out of hand and it's getting pretty poisonous. Another day, another rug pull scam and this time, it involves a fast food chain having its social media account hacked. Stay vigilant and be careful with your crypto investments."

McDonald's is the latest in what could be a growing trend of breaches into the social media accounts of high-profile entities and individuals to shill scam memecoins. Late in June, the X account of rock band Metallica was hacked to post a fake $METAL token.

In February, the X handle of Bitcoin maximalist firm MicroStrategy was also hacked to promote fake tokens. A crypto sleuth revealed that some $440,000 was "stolen" from investors due to the said incident.