On July 2, actress Sydney Sweeny’s X account was hacked by crypto scammers who used it to promote one of those crypto meme scams. This is the second time this year that Syndey’s account was hacked. Back in January, her account was hijacked to promote a different crypto meme coin. Unfortunately, Sydney’s cell phone number was also hacked at the same time as her Twitter account. After a picture of a Verizon receipt in Sydney’s name was posted online, it was determined that she’s also a victim of SIM swapping. Essentially, SIM swapping is when hackers take control of someone’s phone number, meaning all their phone calls, text messages, etc. will move over to a new device that the hacker controls.
Sydney Sweeney’s cellphone number was hijacked the same day hackers took over her X account to promote a crypto meme coin scam, according to a new report. A copy of a Verizon Wireless receipt from July 2 was posted online and obtained by technology news site 404 Media, showing that someone made changes to the “Euphoria” star’s account.
“Hi SYDNEY SWEENEY, Thank you for your order,” the paper read. “If you have any question [sic], please feel free to contact me.”
An iPhone and its box were next to the receipt in the photo.
The outlet speculated that the Emmy nominee, 26, was “a victim of SIM swapping, where hackers take over a target’s phone number and reroute text messages and phone calls to a device that the attackers control.”
Page Six has reached out to Sweeney’s reps for comment.
A Verizon spokesperson, Richard Young, said in a statement to 404 Media that he could not “discuss a specific customer situation” but added, “Verizon takes customer privacy and account security very seriously. When an issue is brought to our attention, we work quickly to investigate and remediate the issue, and work to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
The date listed on the receipt was the same day Sweeney’s X account was hacked by someone tweeting about cryptocurrency.
“Well I think it’s time $sweeney is now live 100mc incoming,” wrote the hackers on the actress’s account. “At 10mc, 10% of the supply will be burnt.”
The post also included a link that directed users to a newly created Pump.fun meme coin that the hackers claimed was from Sweeney.
The cyberterrorists also told the “Immaculate” star’s 1 million followers that she would be “going live on spaces soon” to show “what $sweeney can do.”
The hackers’s tweets didn’t stay up for long, as Sweeney reclaimed her account and deleted all traces of the crypto scams. In fact, the “Anyone But You” star’s X page shows that her last message was posted in May to promote her forthcoming film, in which she’ll be portraying boxer Christy Martin.
Sweeney is part of a long list of stars whose social media accounts have recently been hijacked by hackers. Rappers 50 Cent, Doja Cat and Rich the Kid and former wrestler Hulk Hogan were also victims of the hacks.
Ugh, I feel terrible for her. It’s such a gross invasion of privacy. I hope she doesn’t have any other problems, like them hacking into her iCloud Photos or Apple wallet. I would be beyond angry if someone did this to me. It makes me worried to know that AT&T was hacked a few weeks ago and the hackers got access to “nearly all” of their customers’ records. As an AT&T cellular customer, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop on that one. I know it’s probably unlikely to track down who hacked her account and swapped SIM cards, but I hope there’s a way to do it. The crypto scams have gotten out-of-control on both Elon Musk’s platform and Instagram. Over the past few years, I’ve had a few people in my life whose Instagram accounts got hacked and it was hard to get them back. For a family member, whoever hacked their account still constantly posts those spammy things. I hope something can be done about it, with legislation or other official channels.
photos credit: IMAGO/RW / Avalon, Jeffrey Mayer / Avalon and via Instagram