Hackers Use Microsoft’s X Account to Push Clippy Crypto Scam

Hackers breached Microsoft’s official X account, leveraging its 13 million followers to promote a fraudulent Clippy-themed cryptocurrency. The attackers briefly changed the profile picture to Clippy, Microsoft’s retired animated paperclip assistant, and posted messages endorsing the unauthorized token.

Microsoft quickly secured the account and removed the posts, confirming that the tweets were not authorized. A bizarre apology message also appeared briefly before being deleted. The company stated it had not endorsed or permitted the creation of any cryptocurrency linked to Clippy or its brand.

X shut down one fake Clippy account (@clippymsftcto), but another (@ClippyMSFT) remained active, still promoting the $Clippy token. Microsoft spokesperson Brent Colburn confirmed the breach and assured that the account had been secured and the unauthorized posts removed.

This incident follows a similar attack in June 2024, where Microsoft’s India X account was hijacked to promote a fake GameStop crypto presale.