Scammers Push Memecoins Using Fake Sam Bankman-Fried Account

Highlights:

• A fake Sam Bankman-Fried account on X falsely claimed Trump pardoned him and launched memecoins.
• Sam Bankman-Fried returned to X after two years, and the FTT token surged 29% before dropping back to $1.6.
• SBF appeals his conviction and seeks a pardon from President Trump.

A fake account impersonating Sam Bankman-Fried has surfaced on X, and the scammers behind the account falsely claimed that Donald Trump had pardoned him. They also announced that he was joining the Department of Government Efficiency. This claim misled many users, as the department is linked to Elon Musk’s government efficiency campaign. Soon after, the scammers released several memecoin contract addresses, attempting to lure investors.

⚠️Scam season ⚠️
Another Fake Sam Bankman Fried drama

– Fake SBF account with government badge is claimed to receive Trump Pardon
– Then, posting a meme coin called $SBF, and rug it within minutes. From $10 Million to rug.
– Meanwhile, the real SBF is somehow tweeting from… pic.twitter.com/vEaIdJB2yt

— Chad All-In Top Daily Crypto News (@Chad_allin) February 25, 2025

The fake account also had a gray verification check mark, which is mostly used for government or multinational organization accounts. Many users flagged the suspicious activity and condemned it as fraud and identity theft. The message was quickly removed from X after the warnings, and some investors may have been scammed.

This incident happened after Bankman-Fried broke his two-year silence on X. His sudden reappearance created a buzz, allowing scammers to act. This comes amid the increase of memecoins in the market.

Sam Bankman-Fried Returns to X

SBF made his first post on X in two years. His post focused on government layoffs and economic challenges. Concerning job cuts, he said that firing people is one of the hardest things in the world. He also added that job losses are mostly a result of bad management and hardly from poor performance on the part of employees.

1) I have a lot of sympathy for gov’t employees: I, too, have not checked my email for the past few (hundred) days

And I can confirm that being unemployed is a lot less relaxing than it looks

— SBF (@SBF_FTX) February 25, 2025

His unexpected return had an immediate impact on the FTT token. The token surged by 29%, reaching a high of $2.12. However, the price soon declined and settled at around $1.7. Investors reacted quickly, which increased the daily trading volume of FTT by 162.29% to $95.82 million. However, the token has seen a 17% drop over the past week and a 19% drop over the past month.

The post by Bankman Fried follows Elon Musk’s campaign for government efficiency that drastically cut the number of people working for the federal government. Reports indicate that 95,000 positions have been eliminated. Most were voluntary resignations, while others were dismissed due to probationary status. His comments on job losses drew mixed reactions from investors and social media users.

Despite the price movement, FTT’s connection to FTX remains a concern. Investors are uncertain about the token’s long-term stability.

SBF Pushes for a Pardon From President Trump

SBF is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for fraud and conspiracy. He has appealed his conviction, arguing that his trial had legal flaws. In particular, his legal team is pushing for a retrial. He is also seeking clemency from Donald Trump, who recently pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht.

The fake account incident has called into question the rise of scams in the cryptocurrency market. Some users were persuaded by the fraudulent claim of a presidential pardon until it was flagged. The rise of rug pull tokens in the last two months, such as the LIBRA token, will scare investors off the market.