Oddly enough, Apple is known for never using its official Twitter account to market its flagship iPhone or Mac computers. However, the one tweet the account has ever made was directly about Bitcoin to its more than 4.6 million followers.
Comparing Apples To Oranges, And a Computer Firm To Crypto
Bitcoin was created by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto sparking an entire industry of competitors. Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, and like the cryptocurrency is the leader in its space.
Apple also sparked a sea of competitors and knock offs, much like what has happened with the emergence of altcoins.
Related Reading | Why Apple Won’t Reveal Crypto and Bitcoin Support at iPhone 12 Event
But Apple is a company, led by executives and featuring everything from a full marketing arm to a research and development department. There’s constant productivity pushing innovation and adoption of their products forward. None of this exists for Bitcoin.
While both Apple and Bitcoin both have an official Twitter account, Apple’s strangely has never been used to tweet to market its products.
It was used, however, to bring publicity to Bitcoin. But it is not in the positive way you might expect.
Why Did The Tech Brand’s Official Account Tweet About Bitcoin?
The reason Bitcoin was mentioned in the official Apple account’s only tweet, was because it compromised by a hacker.
The hacker then posted a BTC address, along with the commonly seen cryptocurrency scam requesting a sum of crypto is sent for double the amount in return.
Celebrities are usually impersonated for such tactics, using other accounts designed to mimic the likes of Elon Musk or President Trump. But in this case, the hacker was able to gain control of not only Apple’s official account, but accounts of public figures, musicians, and politicians.
Related Reading | The Most Common Bitcoin Scams And How To Avoid Them
Jeff Bezos, Joe Biden, Kim, and Kanye were among those who had their accounts hacked.
A 17-year old Tampa teen was responsible for the attack, who was recently detained by authorities. He’s now facing a full slate of charges including one count of organized fraud, 17 counts of communications fraud, one count of fraudulent use of personal information with over $100,000 or 30 or more victims, 10 counts of fraudulent use of personal information, and one count of access to computer or electronic device without authority.
Although the suspect is a teen, the court system plans on charging him as an adult if allowed due to the crime being monetary related.
Over $120,000 in BTC was transferred to accounts controlled by the hacker. There are several similar scams to watch out for. Be sure to check out our list of the most common Bitcoin scams and how to avoid them.