The official X account for heavy metal band Metallica was hacked, with exploiters using the breach to promote a Solana token named METAL.
Account Breach and Recovery
The hackers posted about the METAL token, falsely claiming it was made in partnership with Ticketmaster. Metallica’s team quickly regained control of the account and deleted all posts related to the token.
False Claims and Reactions
On June 26, Metallica’s X account posted about METAL, stating it was launched in collaboration with Ticketmaster. In reality, the token was deployed on the Solana-based platform pump.fun. Ticketmaster did not announce any such partnership and did not respond to requests for comment.
Further complicating matters, the posts claimed that fintech firm MoonPay was involved with the token. MoonPay president Keith Grossman refuted this in a post, stating, “MoonPay does NOT support METAL.” MoonPay later warned users about the scam with a clever reference to Metallica’s hit song, “Master of Puppets,” saying, “If someone is offering you a METAL token, they are not the master of puppets — they’re the master of scams!”
Fraudulent Promises and Token Performance
The fraudulent posts also claimed that holders of METAL tokens could redeem them for exclusive items such as concert tickets, custom gaming consoles, and merchandise. One post even suggested that the token would offer staking rewards.
The METAL token briefly surged to a total value of $3.37 million, according to Dexscreener data. However, less than three hours later, its market capitalization plummeted to $90,000, marking a drop of over 97% from its peak value.
It remains unclear how the hackers breached Metallica’s X account. Attempts to contact the band and its management team for comments have been unsuccessful.
