Scammers posing as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, launched a fake cryptocurrency to take advantage of the retail rush around celebrity-endorsed memecoins.
The fraudulent token, called the “Official” Saudi Arabia memecoin (KSA), was falsely announced by the account “SaudiLawConf,” which was later revealed to be a fake account impersonating the crown prince.
The scam was first suspected due to the lack of any official communication from the Saudi government and the absence of details concerning the token’s economics or utility.
The situation escalated when the Saudi Law Conference, the legitimate owners of the hacked account, declared on LinkedIn on February 17 that their account was compromised and that the current content did not represent their views or official stance.
The fake KSA token’s introduction followed the dramatic rise and fall of the Libra (LIBRA) token, which was endorsed by Argentine President Javier Milei. The Libra token plummeted over 94% in value within hours after insiders withdrew approximately $107 million in liquidity, as reported on February 15.
In light of the recent memecoin scams, Anndy Lian, a blockchain expert, emphasized the importance of investor due diligence, advising scrutiny of the project’s team and transparency. Lian warned against investing in projects without clear information about the individuals involved.
The fraudulent Saudi Arabia memecoin attracted little investor interest, with a market capitalization of just $7,489 since its launch, according to data from the memecoin launchpad Pump.fun. It was noted that the token contract for the fake memecoin was created onchain on February 10, a week before its announcement.
The trend of political figure-endorsed memecoins has led to significant losses for investors. For instance, the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin and Melania Meme (MELANIA) token, launched in January, have underperformed compared to the broader cryptocurrency market.
The TRUMP token has dropped over 76% from its peak, while the MELANIA coin is down more than 90%, as indicated by TradingView data. Similarly, the Libra coin endorsed by Milei has fallen over 92% from its highest value, with Dexscreener showing a significant market downturn following the cash-out by insiders.
Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.
Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.
An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.