On Tuesday, the X account of UK MP Lucy Powell was hacked to promote a cryptocurrency scam

This saw her become the seventh MP to have their account hacked since Elon Musk acquired Twitter three years ago.

British MPs are apparently a preferred target for hackers, and seven of them have had their X accounts taken over since Elon Musk acquired the social media platform three years ago.

The latest victim is Lucy Powell, the leader of the House of Commons, whose account was used to promote a fraudulent "House of Commons Coin" on Tuesday. The token, which is being sold under the ticker $HCC, is likely a small-scale operation. According to a CoinShares senior research associate, the token saw 34 transactions and likely generated a profit of less than $400.

This year alone, four UK MPs have been targeted by hackers to promote various crypto scams. The other victims include the Green Party’s Deputy Leader, who was used to promote a token called "ClimateCoin," and Welsh Labour MP Chris Elmore, whose account was used to promote a token called $MOL.

The only MP who had his account hacked for reasons other than to promote a crypto scam was Chris Heaton-Harris, whose account was used to share offensive remarks.

You can see all of the UK MPs hacked since Elon Musk's X acquisition in the table below:

Since Elon Musk's acquisition of X (formerly Twitter) in late 2020, seven members of the British Parliament (MPs) have had their X accounts hacked by malicious actors to promote cryptocurrency scams. The latest victim is Lucy Powell, the leader of the House of Commons, whose account was used to promote a fraudulent "House of Commons Coin" on Tuesday. According to a senior research associate at CoinShares, the token, which is being sold under the ticker $HCC, is likely a small-scale operation with a limited profit margin.

"It seems like a very small-scale operation. The token only had 34 transactions and is likely making a profit of less than 300 pounds ($400). It appears to be targeting a very small audience," the research associate explained.

Earlier this year, the British Army's X account was hacked to promote an NFT scam, while the World Health Organization's account was hacked to promote a Solana-based token called "hacked." The hackers also changed the handles of the compromised accounts to "Ben REichert" and "Solana_hacker" respectively.

In 2022, Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle warned MPs to tighten their phone security while claiming they are being targeted by hostile nations for sensitive information.

"We are in the crosshairs of foreign powers who want to gain access to our phones to get hold of the information we hold as MPs," Sir Lindsay told peers.

"They are not interested in our family photos or our holiday snaps. They want our contacts, our messages and the details of the work we are doing for our constituents."

The MPs' accounts are being used without their consent to promote various crypto projects, ranging from a token called "ClimateCoin" to a new chain called '$CChain.' The hackers appear to be exploiting the MPs' platforms to reach a wider audience and generate interest in their fraudulent schemes.

As institutions and high-profile individuals continue to fall victim to X account hacks, users are advised to be cautious and verify any messages or posts from trusted sources. With the incidence of account takeovers increasing, it's crucial to stay vigilant and avoid clicking on suspicious links or engaging with unsolicited messages.