How crypto scammers are exploiting celebrities to drain your wallet

As social engineering among crypto scammers grows in popularity, celebrities and tech figures are among the top targets for those trying to capitalize on the trust these personalities offer and lure victims into their criminal schemes.

Crypto intelligence and security company Merkle Science said that it analyzed 36 reported crypto social engineering attacks in 2024 and found that in 33% of cases, scammers tried to exploit the fan base of celebrities, even if those figures were not knowledgeable in the crypto world.

Meanwhile, tech figures – such as business leaders in general tech, venture capital, crypto, or Web3 – came second, accounting for 30% of cases. Government agencies, consumer brands, and various communities also made the list, appearing in 5% of cases each.

The research also found that the average follower count across all victim types was 2.3 million.

The majority of attacks (75%) happened on the X platform, while 19% were registered on YouTube. In 5% of incidents, scammers targeted companies' official websites.

Rug pulls and phishing attacks were the two main methods used to target victims, each comprising 44% of all cases. During rug pulls – which involve luring victims into fraudulent investment schemes before disappearing with all the money – the main goal was to convince victims to buy a meme coin on the Solana blockchain.

"One striking example is the August 29th, 2024, hack of Kylian Mbappé’s X account. The attacker posted a message promoting a $MBAPPE meme coin on Solana, which quickly surged to a $460 million market cap. Thousands of fans, lured by the endorsement, collectively invested over $1 million – only to realize too late that they had fallen victim to a scam," the researchers said.

Meanwhile, criminals in phishing campaigns try to convince victims to click on malicious links to drain their crypto wallets. Among the top tactics are fake giveaways, token airdrops, and fraudulent investment schemes, sometimes even involving made-up coins such as Lego Coin.

Some attacks were even more sophisticated, combining both phishing and rug pull tactics.

"The rise of social engineering-driven attacks underscores a critical shift in crypto crime – one that targets human psychology rather than technical vulnerabilities," Merkle Science concluded.