This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53425822
The article has changed 21 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Elon Musk and Bill Gates 'hacked' in apparent Bitcoin scam | Elon Musk and Bill Gates 'hacked' in apparent Bitcoin scam |
(30 minutes later) | |
Billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates are among several high-profile individuals targeted by hackers on Twitter in an apparent Bitcoin scam. | Billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates are among several high-profile individuals targeted by hackers on Twitter in an apparent Bitcoin scam. |
The official accounts of Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Kanye West also requested donations in the cryptocurrency. | |
"Everyone is asking me to give back, and now is the time," a tweet from Mr Gates's account said. "You send $1,000, I send you back $2,000." | "Everyone is asking me to give back, and now is the time," a tweet from Mr Gates's account said. "You send $1,000, I send you back $2,000." |
The tweets were deleted just minutes after they first were posted. | The tweets were deleted just minutes after they first were posted. |
On the official account of Mr Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX chief appeared to offer to double any Bitcoin payment sent to the address of his digital wallet "for the next hour". | |
"I'm feeling generous because of Covid-19," the tweet added, along with a Bitcoin link address. | |
As well as rapper Kanye West, former US President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, major companies Uber and the Apple Corporation were targeted. | |
In the short time it was online, the address displayed in the tweets received hundreds of contributions totalling more than $100,000 (£80,000). | |
The Twitter accounts targeted all have millions of followers. | |
Twitter later said it was looking into the incident and would issue a statement soon. | Twitter later said it was looking into the incident and would issue a statement soon. |