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A long-running scam involving hacked Twitter accounts offering fake PlayStation 5 consoles for sale briefly ensnared Los Angeles Lakers co-owner Jeanie Buss.
On Monday night, Buss’ Twitter account announced that she had three PS5s for sale and invited interested users to send her a direct message. “All proceeds will go directly to charity and everyone who buys one will have the opportunity to attend a Lakers game,” the post said.
(Credit: Twitter)
The deal was certainly enticing to NBA fans, but it wasn’t real. On Tuesday, the Lakers’ official Twitter account confirmed(Opens in a new window) that someone had stolen Bush’s account.
“Lakers fans, my Twitter account has been hacked. Please don’t bother with it and don’t send money. These are NOT legitimate offers,” Bass tweeted.
The hack is embarrassing for the Lakers co-owner, but Bass wasn’t the only victim. Fraudsters have been running their scheme for over a year now, stealing verified Twitter accounts, possibly by guessing passwords.
In the past, scammers have taken over Twitter accounts only to dress them up as seemingly legitimate product tracking services to purchase a PS5. But in other cases, the culprits have hacked owned Twitter accounts celebrities(Opens in a new window) and pretended to offer PS5 for sale.
Users who contacted Buss’ Twitter account during the hack say the scammers asked interested customers to wire $540 to a Zelle account. The scammers then promised to create a shipping label for the PS5.
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It’s unclear how many users fell for the trick. But some were quick to realize the fraudulent nature of the deal, and trolled(Opens in a new window) hackers asking to pay for the PS5 with an NBA draft or if the proceeds would go towards restoring NBA player LeBron James’ hairline.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, the company has previously said: “We are constantly adapting to the evolving methods of bad actors and will continue to iterate and improve our policies as the industry evolves.” To protect your account from hacking, consider enabling o two-factor authentication(Opens in a new window).
The scam comes as the PS5 remains hard to find in stock. But consumers can still get one if they’re persistent. Check out our guide for more tips.
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