If you look at Jase Robertson and David Dayen, I don’t think they have much in common. Robertson is known for appearing on the A&E reality show. duck dynastyHe currently hosts a show on conservative digital outlet TheBlaze. David Dayen is a longtime progressive journalist and executive editor of American Prospect magazine.
But in recent weeks, tweets from both Robertson’s and Dayen’s Twitter accounts have shared the exact same message.
Tweet from Jace Robertson’s hacked Twitter account.
Credit: Mashable screenshot
“Hello Twitter family!” starts a tweet posted to both accounts. “I have 10 of his MacBooks that I personally sign and you can buy them for $600 with free shipping. First come first serve and all proceeds go to charity. open his DMS in
Each account’s tweets contain the exact same photo of a MacBook Pro on a wooden floor. what’s going on Did Dayen and Robertson put political differences aside and start an Apple reselling business?
no. They have been hacked along with numerous other traditional verified accounts on social media platforms. And Twitter remains silent on the matter.
Some of these accounts have been hacked for weeks, but Twitter has not suspended them, allowing hackers to defraud users of thousands of dollars or more.
A tweet from David Dayen’s hacked Twitter account.
Credit: Mashable screenshot
Dayen told Mashable that he was first hacked last summer after clicking a malicious link that provided malicious individuals with access to his account. His account, he says, was quickly suspended by Twitter long before Elon Musk bought the company. When he regained access about a month later, Dayen immediately enabled two-factor authentication for him on his account. Enacting this security measure should have made it very difficult to carry out another hack.
But here @ddayen’s Twitter account was hacked just 6 months later to scam users of the platform.
followers get scammed
Mashable spoke to at least one of Dayen’s followers who got scammed after seeing Dayen’s tweet. This person saw a tweet from a trusted user, unaware that Dayen had been hacked, and in a moment of despair became obsessed with the plan.
“I’m obsessed with it,” a Twitter user told Mashable. “I really need a computer.”
Another tweet from David Dayen’s hacked Twitter account.
Credit: Mashable screenshot
This person shared a private DM conversation with the person running the hacked @ddayen account. They also provided a screenshot of her $1,500 deal they made to the scammer. This included payments from family members who wanted to buy MacBooks. Scammers demanded payment via Zelle, Cashapp, or Apple Pay. These are all peer-to-peer payment services that often do not offer refunds to scammed users.
Dayen tells Mashable that he has filed two support tickets on Twitter since it was hacked on March 12th. He also replied to his Twitter auto-reply asking for more details. Additionally, he tweets publicly on his official Twitter support his account @TwitterSupport. His account remains active after being hacked, and the scammer’s tweets appear all over his Twitter.
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“It’s amazing that @twittersupport hasn’t locked @ddayen at least after I reported the hack with dozens of people,” said Dayen. murmured(opens in new tab) From his backup account @david_dayen.
this is not an isolated incident
duck dynastyRobertson was hacked even earlier, with an earlier scam tweet that appeared in his account’s feed on March 2nd. episode(opens in new tab) of his podcast.
Winnie Wong, former senior political adviser to Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, was also hacked by these crooks. However, they seem to be trying something different with her account.
Wong told Mashable that scammers originally started posting about the same MacBook scam when she was first hacked on March 13th and launched from her @WaywardWinifred account.But then she started(opens in new tab) Tweet(opens in new tab) After she and Dayen were hacked from her other high-profile Twitter account, @People4Bernie, scammers blocked her account from viewing tweets from the hacked account. The scammer then changed her Twitter profile and header to make her account look like her official Twitter profile.
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Hacked @WaywardWinifred account Began(opens in new tab) Privately sent DMs to Wong’s contacts (including politicians and other influential users) impersonating members of Twitter’s support. The DM informed the user that it violated Twitter’s policy and required them to fill out a form on the website “security-twitter.com/resetpassword”. This is a phishing website where scammers have tricked users into making it look like her Twitter page. You can share your password and take over your account.
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Phishing websites are now redirecting to Instagram accounts @morcegoen(opens in new tab), seems to be related to scammers.Single person photograph(opens in new tab) The @morcegoen page has comments from verified Instagram users like actor John Cusack. Cusack himself had his Instagram account hacked at the time this account was created. Cusack’s Instagram account posted a photo of his MacBook being hacked, along with the same text “10 of his MacBooks” for sale.
The same scammers also attacked other high-profile Twitter accounts earlier this year.actress Anya Taylor Joy(opens in new tab)‘s Twitter account was hacked and began tweeting about MacBook scams in January.actor Jonathan Frakes(opens in new tab)‘ accounts also started doing the same thing in late December last year. However, both Joy’s and Frakes’ accounts have since been restored to their rightful owners.
A January tweet from Anya Taylor Joy’s hacked Twitter account.
Credit: Mashable screenshot
So far, all of the high-profile hacked accounts are legacy verified accounts.In other words, Musk hijacked the platform and users twitter blue Confirmed the checkmark for $8/month.
Twitter’s inaction on the matter is problematic. As Wong told me, her concern isn’t that she can’t access her account, but that her account hasn’t been suspended yet. This allows hackers to continue scamming their followers and other her Twitter users. Issues with accounts stolen earlier this year, including those of Anya Taylor-Joy, were resolved at a time when Twitter had more employees, she notes.Twitter Is Down Since These Hacks Earlier This Year addition round of dismissal.
Mashable was unable to reach Twitter for comment, as Mashable no longer has a communications department under Musk.
