Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu’s X account was compromised to promote fake crypto token

Animoca Brands Warns of Compromised Social Media Account

Animoca Brands has issued a public notice regarding the recent compromise of co-founder Yat Siu's social media account.

The official statement emphasizes that claims regarding the launch of a token or NFT on the Solana blockchain under the Animoca Brands name are fraudulent. This malicious activity was perpetrated by the hacker who gained unauthorized access to the account.

As of this notice, Animoca Brands clarifies that there is no official token or NFT launch associated with the company. Users are strongly advised to refrain from engaging with the compromised account.

Animoca Brands has assured that updates will be provided once the account is restored.

Yat Siu and Animoca Brands

Yat Siu and David Kim established Animoca Brands Corporation in 2014. Initially focused on mobile game development, the company pivoted to blockchain gaming and non-fungible tokens in 2018, becoming a prominent player in the Web3 industry.

Vulnerabilities of the Solana Blockchain

This incident highlights the vulnerabilities inherent to the Solana blockchain, which has previously been targeted by scams. The structure of Solana's token accounts allows attackers to reassign asset ownership with a single missed command, leaving funds irrecoverable. In addition, its one-step transaction approval mechanism facilitates irreversible losses if a malicious transaction is authorized.

The platform's ability to group multiple sub-transactions into one approval exacerbates the risk of concealed theft. Scammers also exploit Solana's Durable Nonce feature to delay the execution of fraudulent operations, bypassing alerts and catching victims off guard.

Users' lack of awareness about these unique operational risks makes Solana a prime target for scams.