Matthew Perry’s X Account Targeted by Hackers, Misleading Followers for Fraudulent Donations
Reports indicate that the X account of the late Matthew Perry has fallen victim to hackers, raising concerns over the security of the Friends star’s online presence. The foundation established in honor of Perry, who passed away last October, became the apparent focus of a deceptive link in a pinned post at the top of his profile, urging users to donate.
Despite the appearance of a legitimate donation request, the post actually directed followers to a duplicate site with malicious intentions. The Matthew Perry Foundation took to Instagram to address the situation, stating, “We have received reports that Matthew’s official X page has been hacked and is directing users to a fraudulent site soliciting donations via cryptocurrency.”
The Foundation clarified that the only authentic website associated with their cause is MatthewPerryFoundation.org and emphasized their exclusive acceptance of donations through this platform. They urged followers not to contribute to the fraudulent site or share the deceptive posts on social media.
Accompanying the warning, the Foundation added, “This is the only official Matthew Perry Foundation Instagram account, and we will only ever post official Foundation communications. Please report imposter accounts, and do not submit donations through any channel other than MatthewPerryFoundation.org. #MatthewPerry.”
The suspicious post was also flagged by X’s community notes feature, explicitly stating that the account had been hacked and the linked site was fraudulent.
Matthew Perry, best known for his role as Chandler Bing in the iconic US sitcom Friends, tragically passed away, with the cause ruled as an accident resulting from the “acute effects of ketamine.” The actor was discovered “unresponsive in the pool at his residence” on October 28th of the previous year.
Following Perry’s death, the foundation bearing his name was established to assist individuals struggling with addiction, a cause the actor had been openly passionate about. Notably, Jennifer Aniston, who portrayed Rachel Green in Friends, joined others in urging support for the foundation.
Recently, Perry was honored in the in memoriam segment at the SAG Awards, prompting controversy at the BAFTAs due to his omission from their remembrance roll call.
Source – Sky News