Hackers Shill Scam Crypto From Compromised X Account of TV Star Dean Norris
Breaking Bad star Dean Norris has become the latest target of a crypto scam after hackers hijacked his X account to shill a scam memecoin called $DEAN.
Norris’ X Account Hacked Again
Dean Norris, the actor most famous for playing Hank Schrader in Breaking Bad, has become a victim of hacking for a second time within six months. The fraudsters hijacked his X account to shill $DEAN – a fake memecoin. The scam tweet falsely mentioned that Norris created the coin. It briefly saw its market capitalization jump as high as $7 million before falling 95%, according to DexScreener.
It contained a fabricated endorsement that read, “I have decided to create my own crypto coin and name it $Dean.” This was followed by a contract address and an image of Norris holding a notepad with a photoshopped launch date and the coin’s symbol.
Scammers Used Cameo to Appear Credible
To make the scam appear authentic, the hackers paid for a Cameo video from Norris. A user on X revealed that the perpetrators staged a follow-up tweet with a photoshopped notepad to validate the coin’s launch. The Cameo video showed Norris saying, “Hey, it’s me, Dean. It’s January 25th, I’m declaring it’s real.”
Dean Norris Responds to the Hack
Hours after the hack, Norris regained control of his account and addressed the incident. He said in a video posted on X: “Hey, this is Dean Norris, actually, and that whole crazy crypto shit was a complete fake scam. I was hacked.”
He denied having a Telegram account and said he rarely uses X. “I didn’t know I was hacked until I started getting texts from friends saying it’s out there. I immediately reported it to X, and it was resolved,” he said.
Previous Hack Targeting Norris
It is the second time in six months that Norris’ account has been used to push crypto scams. His account was hacked in September 2024 to shill another memecoin scam called SCHRADER. Onchain investigator ZachXBT linked this and other scams to a former professional Fortnite player who has compromised several accounts.
