In a shocking incident, Microsoft India's Twitter account, bearing the coveted gold tick of verification, was compromised by crypto scammers. The perpetrators, masquerading as "Roaring Kitty," the pseudonym of renowned stock trader Keith Gill, exploited Gill's recent return to the scene. This brazen attack coincided with a significant surge in GameStop's shares, closing at $23.14 on Friday, marking a substantial 38.8% increase for the year.

The scammers, leveraging Microsoft India's verified account, posted a series of videos featuring Roaring Kitty, enticing users to visit an unverified website purporting to "pre-sell" fake GameStop (GME) cryptos. Unwary users who connected to the phishing site exposed their crypto assets to the threat actors, potentially leading to financial losses.

The compromised account, with a substantial following of over 211,000 users, has since deleted its profile picture and header. However, the fraudulent post remains intact, leaving uncertainty about the account's current status and whether it is still under the control of the malicious actors.

Experts suspect a SIM-swapping attack, a tactic exploited by scammers to bypass two-factor authentication weaknesses. This incident bears striking similarities to previous attacks, including the hacking of the US regulator SEC's Twitter account in January, which resulted in a fake announcement about Bitcoin ETF approvals. The X safety team attributed the breach to a SIM-swapping attack linked to an official phone number associated with the @SECGov account.

This latest security breach is part of a larger pattern of attacks targeting high-profile Twitter accounts, including those of Netgear and Hyundai MEA. Scammers have been using these compromised accounts to disseminate malware designed to drain cryptocurrency wallets. Since the beginning of 2024, numerous Twitter accounts of prominent companies and crypto influencers have fallen prey to such scams, luring victims into fake promotions.

In a related incident, scammers utilized Google Ads in December 2023 to target victims with counterfeit versions of popular crypto platforms. The "MS Drainer" wallet drainer malware reportedly stole a staggering $59 million from 63,210 victims. These brazen attacks underscore the urgent need for enhanced security measures and vigilance in the cryptocurrency and social media landscapes.