Crypto Scammers Breach OpenAI's Press Account on X

OpenAI's official press account on X has seemingly fallen victim to the same cryptocurrency scammers who previously targeted the company’s leadership.

On Monday afternoon, the OpenAI Newsroom account—recently launched to highlight product and policy announcements—falsely announced the release of a new OpenAI-branded blockchain token called “$OPENAI.”

“We're thrilled to introduce $OPENAI: bridging the gap between AI and blockchain technology,” the post claimed. “All OpenAI users can claim a share of the initial $OPENAI supply. Holding $OPENAI will grant access to our future beta programs.”

However, the token $OPENAI does not exist. The post on X linked to a phishing site designed to replicate the legitimate OpenAI website, featuring a misleading URL: “token-openai.com.” A prominent “CLAIM $OPENAI” button on this fake site urged unsuspecting individuals to connect their cryptocurrency wallets, likely aimed at stealing their login credentials.

As of the time of publication, both the malicious post and the fraudulent website remained active, along with a repost and a reply that promised further details about the token “later in the week.” The comments on the rogue X post were disabled, further obscuring the hack's malicious intent.

We have reached out to OpenAI and X for comments and will update this article with any responses.

This incident is not unique; OpenAI accounts have previously been targeted by phishing schemes. In June 2023, OpenAI CTO Mira Murati's account posted a similar message about the fictitious $OPENAI cryptocurrency token. Just three months ago, the accounts of OpenAI's chief scientist Jakub Pachocki and researcher Jason Wei were compromised to publish identical scam posts.

According to Coinspeaker, which covered the hack of Murati’s account in June, scammers used a “crypto drainer” tool to siphon NFTs and tokens from victims' wallets once they logged into the fake OpenAI site.

High-profile accounts on X belonging to tech companies and celebrities have been hacked to promote cryptocurrency scams in recent years. A notorious case occurred in 2020 when hackers compromised accounts belonging to Apple, Elon Musk, and Joe Biden, misleading followers about a bitcoin wallet with promises of doubling contributions.

The FBI reported that Americans lost $5.6 billion to cryptocurrency scams in 2023, marking a 45% increase from the previous year. The trend appears poised to worsen in 2024, with over 50,000 scams reported in the first half of this year, costing consumers nearly $2.5 billion, according to the Federal Trade Commission.