TRON’s X Account Compromised in Recent Social Engineering Breach

The entity responsible for one of the largest blockchain platforms announced that TRON’s X account was breached on May 2, 2025, through a targeted social engineering tactic. The incident occurred at 9:25 A.M. PST, during which an unauthorized user published a message with a dubious contract address. The attacker then sent direct messages to users and began following unfamiliar accounts.

Following a thorough investigation, TRON determined that the breach occurred due to a malicious social engineering approach aimed at one of its team members. Once access was gained, the intruder utilized the official account to disseminate a contract address, potentially enticing followers to engage with a fraudulent smart contract. Additionally, unsolicited messages were sent, and various accounts were followed in a bid to extend the exploitation of the breach, even after TRON resumed control of the account. TRON DAO immediately alerted users:

“TRON DAO will never post contract addresses or send unsolicited DMs. If you received a DM from our account on May 2, please delete it and consider it the work of the attacker.”

The organization has since pinpointed several X and Telegram accounts believed to be linked to the intruder and is collaborating with authorities to investigate the matter further.

Justin Sun, the founder of TRON, also urged the OKX exchange to freeze funds associated with the breach and shared the official TRON warning on X with a concise message:

“Be safe.”

Growing Concerns Over Social Engineering Attacks

Social engineering accounts for 98% of all cyberattacks, with the TRON event marking the latest instance in a rising trend of notable social engineering and phishing assaults within the cryptocurrency industry this year. Just days prior, an elderly individual in the U.S. lost $330 million in Bitcoin due to a complex social engineering scheme. In that scenario, attackers exploited the victim’s trust to gain access to their wallet and subsequently laundered the stolen assets through several exchanges and privacy coins.

In another recent incident, over $40 million in bitcoin was stolen from a high-net-worth individual. The hackers employed a mix of phishing emails, impersonation tactics, and phony support tickets to circumvent even the defenses of hardware wallets.

Highly sophisticated social engineering techniques can breach even the most secure systems, revealing that even experienced individuals in the crypto space can be vulnerable to cunning hackers. The breach of TRON’s X account underscores the fact that even organizations with significant resources are not exempt from these risks.

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