Twitter confirms DMs were accessed in hack

Twitter revealed more information about the major crypto scam that targeted dozens of obtrusive Twitter profiles on July 15. The hack targeted accounts of Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Apple, Joe Biden, Kanye West, and many others.

The company tweeted on Wednesday, “We believe that for up to 36 of the 130 targeted accounts, the attackers accessed the DM inbox, including 1 elected official in the Netherlands. To date, we have no indication that any other former or current elected official had their DMs accessed.”

The scam involved fake tweets that requested followers to donate to a Bitcoin wallet and promised to double the payment. After the hacked accounts tweeted, there was apparently a transition worth $100,000 via hundreds of transactions, according to Bitcoin researcher Tim Cotten.

We believe that for up to 36 of the 130 targeted accounts, the attackers accessed the DM inbox, including 1 elected official in the Netherlands. To date, we have no indication that any other former or current elected official had their DMs accessed.

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) July 22, 2020

Soon enough, the incident got attention of the FBI which has been investigating the scam. Twitter also uncovered that the hackers downloaded data from eight accounts through “Your Twitter Data” tool, but none of them included verified accounts.