The X (formerly Twitter) account of deceased Friends star Matthew Perry was hacked yesterday to promote a scam tricking users into donating crypto to a fake charity bearing his name.
The Matthew Perry X account asked its 1.5 million followers to “support our mission in battling addiction” and donate crypto directly to the ‘Matthew Perry Foundation.’ The Friends star passed away in his hot tub last October after overdosing on Ketamine.
Bitcoin, ether, tether, and sol were listed as accepted currencies alongside the scam’s crypto addresses. The X post also read, “Deeply grateful for your generosity, Any contribution is appreciated!” and signed off as “The Matthew Perry Foundation.”
Bruh, scammers hacked @MatthewPerry and are begging for crypto… pic.twitter.com/cL7jb5v6bs
— DANNYonPC (@DANNYonPC) February 26, 2024
Screenshot of the Matthew Perry hack caught by one X user.
Matthew Perry’s official Instagram said, “We have received reports that Matthew’s official X page has been hacked and is directing users to a fraudulent site soliciting donations via cryptocurrency.”
The account warned, “Please do not donate to this site or share the fraudulent posts on social media,” and noted, “MatthewPerryFoundation.org is the only website associated with the Foundation.”
Crypto hacks on X show no sign of slowing down in 2024
Perry’s isn’t the first high-profile X account to be hacked and used as part of a crypto scam. Last year, the account belonging to the late UK comedian, musician, and ‘unofficial seventh member of Monty Python,’ Neil Innes was hacked to promote a series of bitcoin spam posts.
And yesterday, the account belonging to bitcoin-hoarding software firm MicroStrategy was hacked. Attackers reportedly promoted a fake airdrop to MicroStrategy followers that offered ‘official’ Ethereum-based tokens. According to crypto sleuth ZachXBT, the scam has stolen $440,000 in crypto.