The personal Twitter handle of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “very briefly compromised,” his office has confirmed, urging the public to “ignore” any unusual recent tweets.
It was unclear how exactly the culprits gained access to the @narendramodi handle or for how long it was compromised, but once the issue was raised with Twitter support, the account was “immediately secured,” the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a tweet of its own.
In the brief period that the account was compromised, any tweet shared must be ignored.
At least one of the now-deleted fraudulent tweets apparently attempted to promote a classic cryptocurrency giveaway scam.
According to multiple screenshots, it claimed that “India has officially adopted bitcoin as legal tender,” purchased hundreds of coins, and was “distributing them to all residents of the country.”
In an emailed statement to Reuters, a Twitter spokesperson said an investigation had revealed no signs of any other impacted accounts at present.
It’s not the first time that a Twitter account linked to Modi has been compromised and used to promote a crypto scam. Back in September 2020, the verified Twitter handle of the prime minister’s personal website, boasting some 2.5 million followers, was hit by a security breach, sending out a string of posts asking for “generous” donations to support a bogus coronavirus relief fund.