A recent security breach has drawn attention as the WeChat account of Yi He, the newly appointed co-CEO of Binance, was hacked and exploited to promote a memecoin on the BNB Chain. The incident occurred early Wednesday, just days after her promotion, highlighting the increasing necessity for robust digital security measures on conventional social media platforms.
In her announcement via X, Yi He reported that she no longer utilized WeChat, yet the phone number linked to her account was compromised during the incident. She stated, “My WeChat was hacked,” indicating initial difficulties in regaining access to her account. This prompted a swift response from Changpeng Zhao, co-founder of Binance, who cautioned the public against purchasing memecoins promoted in the hacker”s posts, emphasizing, “The security of Web 2 social networks is not that strong. Stay safe!”
Before leveraging Yi He”s profile to endorse the token, the hacker established two wallets and spent 19,479 USDT to acquire approximately 21.16 million of the memecoin named Mubarakah. Following the fraudulent announcement, the value of this asset surged by around 800%, as per data from DEX Screener, enabling the hacker to liquidate some tokens profitably.
On-chain records reveal that the hacker sold 11.95 million units of Mubarakah, amassing over $43,000 in USDT, which was subsequently converted into ETH. Currently, the hacker still possesses 9.21 million Mubarakah, culminating in an estimated total gain of $55,000 from the scheme.
After the incident gained traction, Yi He successfully regained access to her compromised account and reset her password through external verification. She noted that “malicious individuals may be taking advantage of feedback issues and help requests to add me as a friend,” and expressed gratitude towards users who helped spread the alert to prevent further scams.
This incident unfolds during a significant transitional phase for Binance, following Yi He”s recent promotion alongside Richard Teng. This marks the most substantial leadership change since Teng took over from Zhao in November 2023. Yi He has over eight years of experience with Binance, having previously led the customer service department and playing a crucial role in the company”s evolution since 2017.
