Metallica’s social media was hacked by crypto scammers targeting its fans this week.
A post promoting a Solana-based token called “Metal” appeared early Wednesday, June 26, on the veteran Bay Area rock band’s X account, made to look official by mentioning Ticketmaster as a partner, according to screenshots of the now-deleted posts shared online.
“Get ready for the takeover,” the first post read. “Tap into $METAL, a dynamic new token on the Solana blockchain poised to revolutionize how you experience events and shop online. In collaboration with @Ticketmaster.”
Subsequent posts featured graphics using Metallica’s black-and-yellow color scheme from its latest album, “72 Seasons,” and included logos for Ticketmaster and MoonPay, a fintech company with headquarters in Miami, Fla. Hackers used Metallica’s account to post instructions on how to redeem “Metal” tokens for concert tickets and exclusive merchandise, including a signed Xbox Series X.
By the next day, the account had returned to normal. Although Metallica did not officially comment, the band retweeted a message from MoonPay president Keith Grossman, clarifying that his company does not support “Metal.”
The convincing nature of the scam led some fans to fall for it, which is not surprising given that other bands like Megadeth and Avenged Sevenfold have launched crypto tokens in the past.
The “Metal” token briefly surged to a peak value of $3.37 million within 20 minutes of the scam’s launch but plummeted to $90,000 after three hours.
Previously, Metallica fans were targeted by scammers in December 2022 with fake giveaways during the release of “72 Seasons,” resulting in at least one fan losing $25,500 in Bitcoin.
