X Takes Legal Action Against Crypto Scamming Network’s Bribery Scheme

Social media platform X is taking legal action against banned users, including crypto scammers, who have tried to bribe the company’s employees to regain access to the website, the company said in an announcement Friday.

The platform, formerly known as Twitter, said that the bribery network was linked to wider criminal organizations. 

X added that it was working with law enforcement. The company did not reveal much else about the nature of the banned accounts. Decrypt reached out to X for comment. 

“X has exposed and is taking strong action against a bribery network targeting our platform,” read the announcement. “Suspended accounts involved in crypto scams and platform manipulation paid middlemen to attempt to bribe employees to reinstate their suspended accounts.”

It added: “These perpetrators exploit social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Minecraft, and Roblox and are linked to wider criminal organizations, including ‘The Com.'”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation in July warned of “a growing and evolving online threat group known as The Com,” adding that the network was mainly made up of minors and worked to commit cyber crimes. 

“The sophistication of The Com criminal activity has grown over the last four years, with subjects employing increasingly complex methods to mask their identities, hide financial transactions, and launder money,” the FBI’s statement said. 

Social media platform X is no stranger to crypto scammers. In 2020, when it was Twitter and owned by Jack Dorsey, criminals hacked a number of celebrity and brand accounts—including former President Barack Obama, Apple, Uber, and rapper Kanye West—to push a Bitcoin scam.

Last year, hackers targeted high-profile accounts to push a Solana-based meme token, compromising the accounts of computer brand Lenovo’s India division, film director Oliver Stone, and Brazilian soccer player Neymar Jr.