04-16-2025, 04:20 AM
UK lawmaker’s X account hacked to boost scam ‘House of Commons Coin’
<p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;"><img src="https://images.cointelegraph.com/images/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjQtMTIvMDE5NDAxMDUtOGEwYy03YjdhLThmMmEtYzBiYmJmOWZkZDA3.jpg"></p><p><p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;"><img src="https://images.cointelegraph.com/images/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjQtMTIvMDE5NDAxMDUtOGEwYy03YjdhLThmMmEtYzBiYmJmOWZkZDA3.jpg" alt="UK lawmaker’s X account hacked to boost scam ‘House of Commons Coin’"></p><p>The X account of UK member of Parliament and Leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell, was hacked to promote a scam crypto token.<p>In a series of now-deleted posts on April 15, Powell’s X account shared links to a token called the House of Commons Coin (HOC), describing it as “a community driven digital currency.”</p><figure><img alt="UK lawmaker’s X account hacked to boost scam ‘House of Commons Coin’" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-04/01963c70-7062-79d0-82ec-a34619965634" title=""><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><p><em>Source: </em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/DanGreenJourno/status/1912067889072402848" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em>Daniel Green</em></a></p></figcaption></figure><p>A member of Powell’s staff<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr5drp0n8zjo" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"> confirmed</a> to the BBC that the account had been hacked and that “steps were taken quickly to secure the account and remove misleading posts.”</p><p>DEX Screener<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://dexscreener.com/solana/dszeqehb71uqbbr3ubrxvckynlblih4qzxhnwcuwhjem" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"> shows</a> the HOC token saw limited interest from would-be investors, achieving a peak market cap of just over $24,000 shortly after the posts from Powell’s account.</p><p>The token has seen a total of 736 transactions and a trading volume of just $71,000.</p><p>While Powell hasn’t promoted a cryptocurrency before, it isn’t unheard of for political figures to back real crypto tokens.</p><p>US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump both <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/official-trump-memecoin-launch-breaks-records-as-solana-sol-rallies-to-new-all-time-high" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">launched and promoted</a> memecoins days before they entered the White House, sparking criticism from the president’s <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/maxine-waters-donald-trump-memecoin-worst-crypto" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">political rivals</a> and even some supporters.</p><p>Argentine President Javier Melei <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/libra-token-insider-trading-javier-milei-scandal" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">also promoted</a> a token called LIBRA, which quickly crashed in value and has caused a political scandal in Argentina and <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/argentine-lower-house-backs-probe-into-milei-s-libra-scandal" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">calls for a probe</a> into Melei’s involvement with the token.</p><h2>Powell’s account hack follows similar attack on Ghana’s president</h2><p>In March, the X account of Ghana’s President John Mahama saw a similar breach, with attackers taking over his account for 48 hours to promote a scam cryptocurrency called Solanafrica.</p><img img_link="" img_link_new_tab="" img_link_nofollow="" img_link_title="" name="" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-04/01963c6f-b74b-7954-807f-47fb03cfa80e" title="" alt="UK lawmaker’s X account hacked to boost scam ‘House of Commons Coin’"><p><em>The Ghanaian president’s X account was hacked in March 2025. Source:</em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/CediRates/status/1901419439918338517" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em> CrediRates</em></a><em> </em></p><p><em><strong>Related:</strong></em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/uk-trade-bodies-want-crypto-made-strategic-priority" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em><strong> UK trade bodies ask government to make crypto a ‘strategic priority’</strong></em></a></p><p>The scammers made similar crypto-promoting posts to Mahama’s 2.4 million followers, claiming that the scam project was “making payments fast and free across the continent with support from Solana and the Bank of Ghana.”</p><p>The president’s team regained control of Mahama’s X account two days later. His spokesman, Kwakye Ofosu, <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.barrons.com/news/ghana-president-s-x-account-hacked-promotes-crypto-scam-cbe3223e" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">told</a> the AFP that the account “has now been fully restored, and we urge the public to disregard any suspicious cryptocurrency-related posts from the handle.”</p><p><em><strong>Magazine:</strong></em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/memecoin-degeneracy-is-funding-groundbreaking-anti-aging-research/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em><strong> Memecoin degeneracy is funding groundbreaking anti-aging research</strong></em></a></p><template data-name="subscription_form" data-type="defi_newsletter" label="Subscription Form: DeFi Newsletter"></template></p>
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/british-m...er_inbound
<p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;"><img src="https://images.cointelegraph.com/images/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjQtMTIvMDE5NDAxMDUtOGEwYy03YjdhLThmMmEtYzBiYmJmOWZkZDA3.jpg"></p><p><p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;"><img src="https://images.cointelegraph.com/images/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjQtMTIvMDE5NDAxMDUtOGEwYy03YjdhLThmMmEtYzBiYmJmOWZkZDA3.jpg" alt="UK lawmaker’s X account hacked to boost scam ‘House of Commons Coin’"></p><p>The X account of UK member of Parliament and Leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell, was hacked to promote a scam crypto token.<p>In a series of now-deleted posts on April 15, Powell’s X account shared links to a token called the House of Commons Coin (HOC), describing it as “a community driven digital currency.”</p><figure><img alt="UK lawmaker’s X account hacked to boost scam ‘House of Commons Coin’" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-04/01963c70-7062-79d0-82ec-a34619965634" title=""><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><p><em>Source: </em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/DanGreenJourno/status/1912067889072402848" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em>Daniel Green</em></a></p></figcaption></figure><p>A member of Powell’s staff<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr5drp0n8zjo" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"> confirmed</a> to the BBC that the account had been hacked and that “steps were taken quickly to secure the account and remove misleading posts.”</p><p>DEX Screener<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://dexscreener.com/solana/dszeqehb71uqbbr3ubrxvckynlblih4qzxhnwcuwhjem" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"> shows</a> the HOC token saw limited interest from would-be investors, achieving a peak market cap of just over $24,000 shortly after the posts from Powell’s account.</p><p>The token has seen a total of 736 transactions and a trading volume of just $71,000.</p><p>While Powell hasn’t promoted a cryptocurrency before, it isn’t unheard of for political figures to back real crypto tokens.</p><p>US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump both <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/official-trump-memecoin-launch-breaks-records-as-solana-sol-rallies-to-new-all-time-high" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">launched and promoted</a> memecoins days before they entered the White House, sparking criticism from the president’s <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/maxine-waters-donald-trump-memecoin-worst-crypto" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">political rivals</a> and even some supporters.</p><p>Argentine President Javier Melei <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/libra-token-insider-trading-javier-milei-scandal" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">also promoted</a> a token called LIBRA, which quickly crashed in value and has caused a political scandal in Argentina and <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/argentine-lower-house-backs-probe-into-milei-s-libra-scandal" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">calls for a probe</a> into Melei’s involvement with the token.</p><h2>Powell’s account hack follows similar attack on Ghana’s president</h2><p>In March, the X account of Ghana’s President John Mahama saw a similar breach, with attackers taking over his account for 48 hours to promote a scam cryptocurrency called Solanafrica.</p><img img_link="" img_link_new_tab="" img_link_nofollow="" img_link_title="" name="" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-04/01963c6f-b74b-7954-807f-47fb03cfa80e" title="" alt="UK lawmaker’s X account hacked to boost scam ‘House of Commons Coin’"><p><em>The Ghanaian president’s X account was hacked in March 2025. Source:</em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/CediRates/status/1901419439918338517" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em> CrediRates</em></a><em> </em></p><p><em><strong>Related:</strong></em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/uk-trade-bodies-want-crypto-made-strategic-priority" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em><strong> UK trade bodies ask government to make crypto a ‘strategic priority’</strong></em></a></p><p>The scammers made similar crypto-promoting posts to Mahama’s 2.4 million followers, claiming that the scam project was “making payments fast and free across the continent with support from Solana and the Bank of Ghana.”</p><p>The president’s team regained control of Mahama’s X account two days later. His spokesman, Kwakye Ofosu, <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.barrons.com/news/ghana-president-s-x-account-hacked-promotes-crypto-scam-cbe3223e" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">told</a> the AFP that the account “has now been fully restored, and we urge the public to disregard any suspicious cryptocurrency-related posts from the handle.”</p><p><em><strong>Magazine:</strong></em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/memecoin-degeneracy-is-funding-groundbreaking-anti-aging-research/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em><strong> Memecoin degeneracy is funding groundbreaking anti-aging research</strong></em></a></p><template data-name="subscription_form" data-type="defi_newsletter" label="Subscription Form: DeFi Newsletter"></template></p>
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/british-m...er_inbound