A cryptocurrency trader lost over $1 million in just one hour after unknowingly purchasing a fraudulent token linked to French football star Kylian Mbappé. The incident occurred after Mbappé’s X (formerly Twitter) account was hacked, leading to the promotion of the scam token.
The Costly Mistake
On August 29, an on-chain intelligence firm, Lookonchain, reported that the trader spent 7,156 Solana (SOL) tokens, valued at approximately $1.03 million, on a newly minted token named $MBAPPE. This purchase was made in a single transaction, but the token quickly plummeted in value. By the time the trader realized the scam, the $MBAPPE tokens were worth only $9,200—a staggering loss of over $1 million.
Lookonchain shared the details on X, highlighting the rapid decline in the token’s value and the significant financial impact on the trader:
“Someone created a new wallet and spent 7,156 $SOL($1.03M) to buy a #MEMEcoin named $MBAPPE in a single transaction, which is now only worth $9.2K. This person lost more than $1M in just 1 hour!”
The Dangers of Celebrity-Linked Crypto Scams
This incident is a stark reminder of the risks associated with cryptocurrencies, particularly those linked to celebrities. Scammers often exploit the popularity and influence of public figures to promote fraudulent tokens, leading to significant financial losses for unsuspecting investors.
In this case, the trader was deceived by the endorsement seemingly coming from Mbappé’s official account, not realizing that the account had been compromised. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated event. Earlier in August, a memecoin themed around former U.S. President Donald Trump, called TrumpCoin (DJT), experienced a 95% decline in value, further illustrating the volatility and risks associated with celebrity-themed cryptocurrencies.
