Hackers recently targeted the X account of the late Friends star Matthew Perry to orchestrate a cryptocurrency scam, exploiting his considerable social media following of 1.5 million. They infiltrated the account, pinning a fraudulent post urging individuals to donate to the Matthew Perry Foundation, redirecting users to a deceptive website. Although Perry’s account had not posted officially since October 2023, the fraudulent activity was first acknowledged through an Instagram post, promptly deleted after detection.
The scam, initially reported by multiple media outlets including Rolling Stone, deceived users into contributing to a false cause, leveraging Perry’s public image and charitable endeavors. The Matthew Perry Foundation, dedicated to aiding individuals struggling with addiction, issued a statement cautioning against the fraudulent scheme and urging users to refrain from sharing or donating to unauthorized platforms. The foundation emphasized the importance of authenticity, highlighting that official communications from the Matthew Perry Foundation would only originate from the X account.
Following the detection of the scam, Perry’s X account swiftly removed the fraudulent post, but no details regarding the consequences of the attack were disclosed. The incident underscores the vulnerability of celebrity social media accounts to exploitation by malicious actors seeking financial gain. As Perry’s legacy lives on through his charitable work, the foundation remains vigilant in safeguarding against fraudulent activity, reinforcing the importance of verifying donation sources and reporting suspicious behavior to maintain the integrity of their mission.
