Ava Labs’ Chief Operating Officer, Luigi D’Onorio DeMeo, has confirmed that his X account was hacked on August 19, leading to the promotion of a fraudulent Pokémon-themed memecoin named Pika (PIKA). The posts, now deleted, linked to suspicious airdrops and were part of a pump-and-dump scheme.
DeMeo revealed that the breach occurred after he fell victim to a phishing email, which appeared to be a legitimate message from X, warning him of unauthorized access to his account. The email prompted DeMeo to change his password and provide a 2FA code, allowing the hackers to seize control of his account.
Once compromised, the account posted links to PIKA, a Solana-based memecoin styled after Pikachu, one of the central characters of the Pokémon franchise. The posts caused a brief surge in PIKA’s market capitalization, which peaked at $388,570 before plummeting over 99% to a mere $3,289, as reported by DEX Screener.
The hackers also posted links to fraudulent websites masquerading as Ava Labs’ official platforms, claiming to offer Avalanche token giveaways and urging users to connect their crypto wallets. These sites were designed to drain the wallets of unsuspecting users.
The hacking incident mirrors similar attacks earlier this year, including one involving actress Sydney Sweeney’s X account, which was used to promote a fake crypto token.
This incident serves as a stark reminder for crypto users to exercise extreme caution and verify the authenticity of links and emails, even if they appear to come from trusted sources.