Peru Economy Ministry’s X account hacked by crypto scammers promoting fake token

Peru’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, known locally as the Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas (MEF), confirmed on September 14 that its official X account was compromised by crypto scammers. The attackers used the government platform to promote a token called $HYLO, posting messages urging users to check for allocations ahead of a supposed September 25 launch date for claims and trading. The ministry moved quickly to clarify that the posts were unauthorized, advising the public to disregard everything published during the breach. Security measures were activated to regain control of the account, and the fraudulent messages were subsequently deleted. Government accounts as scam launchpads The MEF hack fits a pattern that has become disturbingly familiar across Latin America and beyond. Government entities in Peru and other countries in the region have faced similar compromises in recent years, with bad actors exploiting the trust that official accounts command to push fraudulent crypto schemes. In this case, the scammers’ playbook was straightforward. Multiple posts went up promoting $HYLO, complete with claims of token allocations specifically targeting Peruvians and a concrete da...