- Scammers have impersonated Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to promote a fraudulent cryptocurrency
- The fake token, named the “Official” Saudi Arabia meme coin (KSA), was announced via a compromised social media account
- The legitimate account holders have confirmed the hack and disassociated themselves from the scam
Fraudsters have impersonated Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to launch a counterfeit cryptocurrency called the “Official” Saudi Arabia meme coin. The announcement was made through a hacked social media account, misleading potential buyers, just days after Argentine President Javier Melei was involved in his own crypto scam. The true account owners have since confirmed the breach and denied any involvement with the deceptive token.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Account Hacked
On February 17, an X account named “SaudiLawConf” falsely declared the launch of the KSA meme coin, purporting it to be an official initiative endorsed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This unauthorized announcement aimed to exploit the growing interest in celebrity-backed cryptocurrencies. However, the absence of any official communication from Saudi government channels and a lack of transparency regarding the token’s purpose and economics raised immediate suspicions among the crypto community.
Shortly after the fraudulent announcement, the Saudi Law Conference, the legitimate owner of the compromised account, addressed the situation. In a LinkedIn post dated February 17, they stated:
The conference management announces that the official conference account in the X platform (@SaudiLawConf) has been hacked and that any content currently published through the account does not represent our opinions or official orientations in any way.
This clarification underscored the deceptive nature of the KSA token promotion and served as a warning to potential investors about the scam.
Emerging Pattern of High-Profile Crypto Scams
The KSA meme coin incident is part of a broader trend where scammers leverage the identities of prominent figures to lend credibility to fraudulent cryptocurrency projects. Notably, this event occurred shortly after the collapse of the $LIBRA token, which had been endorsed by Argentine President Javier Milei. The $LIBRA token experienced a dramatic loss of over 94% in value within hours after insiders withdrew approximately $107 million in liquidity.
Blockchain expert Anndy Lian emphasized the importance of due diligence in the crypto space, telling Cointelegraph:
Don’t just throw your cash at something because it’s got a catchy name or claims to be ‘official.’ Check who’s behind the project. If the team is all mysterious or you can’t dig up any real info on them, that’s a red flag waving right in your face.
This incident highlights the necessity for investors to exercise caution and thoroughly research cryptocurrency projects, especially those claiming endorsements from high-profile individuals, to avoid falling victim to such scams.
