In an unexpected turn of events, McDonald’s Instagram account was hacked on Wednesday to promote a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme. The hacker took over the fast-food chain’s account and used it to advertise a fake meme coin called $GRIMACE, themed after McDonald’s iconic purple character. This development raised concerns among McDonald’s 5.1 million followers, as the posts flooded the platform, luring unsuspecting users into the scam.
Surge in GRIMACE’s Value
The meme coin in question, named GRIMACE, quickly gained traction after the hacker posted a series of updates promoting the token as McDonald’s entry into the Solana ecosystem. On-chain data reveals that the token’s market cap skyrocketed to $25 million within half an hour of the posts going live. This surge followed a sharp increase in the token’s price, which climbed to $0.025 during the hacker’s campaign. The hacker’s actions drew significant attention as buyers flocked to purchase the meme coin, unaware of the looming scam.
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$700K in Solana Stolen
After the market spike, the hacker executed a coordinated rug pull, selling off their GRIMACE tokens to profit from the surge in demand. Data analysis from Bubblemaps indicated that the exploiter held 75% of the token’s supply across 100 separate wallets. Notably, the hacker then modified McDonald’s Instagram bio to boast about their actions, claiming to have stolen $700,000 worth of Solana from victims. Despite the brazen act, the posts and bio have since been removed, and McDonald’s Instagram has been restored to its original state.
McDonald’s Restored
The swift response from McDonald’s saw the removal of all fraudulent posts related to the GRIMACE token, returning the account to normal. However, the damage was already done, with the hacker successfully executing the scam. This incident highlights the vulnerabilities of even the largest brands to digital exploitation, with unsuspecting users left bearing the financial brunt of such attacks.
