Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations had its social media accounts hijacked, to promote a bogus cryptocurrency.
Someone needs to remind hackers that messing with the police isn’t the smartest move.
Hack the police
On February 9th, the DCI announced they’d wrestled back control of their X and Facebook accounts, after it seems some cyber-thieves broke in and started peddling a fake crypto coin. The DCI isn’t amused and has launched a full-blown investigation.
These hackers were pretty bold, they even announced the launch of a coin called DCI, cleverly named after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations in an attempt to seem legitimate.
They also claimed this coin could help Kenya save millions of dollars. Didn’t mention how, of course.
To serve and protect
They weren’t shy about promoting their scam either, and shared the token’s contract address and insisted it was listed on major crypto exchanges, though they conveniently forgot to name them.
Plus, they were offering tokens in exchange for likes and urging followers to get the media on board. “Please ask local media to support the idea,” they wrote.
Thankfully, the DCI acted fast. One day later, by February 10th, the hackers’ posts were gone, and the rightful owners were back in charge.
Remember the name
Kenya’s DCI isn’t alone. High-profile figures are increasingly becoming targets for crypto scammers. Remember when Tanzanian billionaire Mohammed Dewji got hacked? The crooks made off with over $1.4 million.
And let’s not forget Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, whose X account was hijacked too, costing users $1.3 million.
The moral of the story? If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And maybe, just maybe, don’t try to scam the police. They tend to notice.
