Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk among Twitter handles that appear to be hacked

Some of the Twitter accounts hacked said they used two-factor authentication and strong passwords, but the tweets indicate they were posted using Twitter’s web app.

Twitter handles belonging to Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos were among the high-profile social media accounts that were apparently hacked to promote a Bitcoin scam.

Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and chief executive officer of Tesla Inc (Bloomberg File Photo)

Both accounts sent out tweets promising to double the money sent by anyone sending funds via Bitcoin within the next 30 minutes.

Uber and Apple Twitter handles posted similar tweets with the scam soon after.

So far, the Bitcoin address tweeted by the hackers has been sent over 11 Bitcoins, worth over $100,000.

Others whose Twitter accounts appeared to be hacked were rapper/entrepreneur Kanye West and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.

Twitter says it is investigating the issue. The company’s shares declined 2.3% post market.

Some of the Twitter accounts hacked said they used two-factor authentication and strong passwords, but the tweets indicate they were posted using Twitter’s web app.

Twitter has previously endured high-profile hacks, including of Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey, administered through a SIM swap, meaning a user found a way to mimic the phone number of the account and tweet via texting. Following the string of incidents, Twitter closed the loophole by suspending the ability to tweet via text message.

(Adds Twitter’s comment and details on Uber.)

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