Scammers just pulled another high-profile stunt in crypto, and this time, some of the world’s biggest celebrities were the bait.
Instagram accounts linked to household names like Adele, Tyla, Future, and even the late Michael Jackson were hijacked and used to promote a fraudulent Solana memecoin.
The hacked pages shared flashy AI-generated images, most notably one of Future holding a giant coin stamped with “FREEBANDZ” (the name of his record label and clothing line). Conveniently, it also happened to be the name of the scam token that hackers were pushing.
Of course, the token had nothing to do with the artist himself. But that didn’t stop people from buying in.
A meteoric rise… followed by a brutal crash
The fake Solana coin launched on Pump.fun and briefly skyrocketed to a market cap of about $900,000. Then, in classic rug-pull fashion, the creator, using a wallet ending in “zcmPHn”, dumped over 700 million tokens, roughly 70% of supply, in a single transaction.
That one move nuked the price by 98%, dropping its valuation to just $20,000.
The scammer managed to pocket more than 250 SOL, worth over $49,000, before vanishing. Meanwhile, Future’s account disappeared from Instagram entirely, deactivated after being used in the scheme.
UFC, Obama, Musk – scammers aren’t picky anymore
This isn’t the first time crypto cons have hijacked high-profile accounts to pump fake tokens.
Earlier this year, scammers hacked the official UFC Instagram account and hyped a fraudulent Solana token with posts like:
“UFC fans have been waiting, and the moment is here. Get ready to own the legacy. Precision. Strength. ALL in one coin. #UFC #UnleashTheFight”
The hype sent “UFC Coin” surging 44,367% in just 41 minutes, before insiders dumped 40% of supply, cashing out $1.4 million and leaving fans holding worthless bags.
Other victims include the creator of TikTok’s “Chill Guy” meme (whose account was hijacked multiple times), former U.S. President Barack Obama, and Tesla’s Elon Musk, both of whom had their massive followings exploited to push fake crypto schemes.
Why this scam worked so well
Scammers thrive on credibility. By hijacking celebrity accounts, they make their pump-and-dump tokens look legitimate, luring unsuspecting fans into believing the hype. Once the money floods in, the insiders sell everything, and the token collapses.
This pattern is repeating across Solana memecoins and beyond.
The bigger picture
While this particular scam only drained around $49,000, the wider trend is alarming. With Solana’s memecoin scene booming and celebrities’ accounts repeatedly being compromised, the opportunities for these fraudsters are only growing.
For investors, the lesson is clear: if it looks too good to be true, especially when “announced” from a hacked celebrity page, it probably is.
