February 18th, 2025

Saudi crown prince impersonators launch fake Saudi Arabia memecoin

Scammers impersonating Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched a fraudulent cryptocurrency, capitalizing on the retail frenzy around celebrity-backed memecoins.

Scammers impersonating the crown prince, who is also the prime minister of Saudi Arabia, launched the token to attract capital from unsuspecting investors.

The “Official” Saudi Arabia memecoin (KSA) was announced on Feb. 17, according to an X post by the account “SaudiLawConf,” a fake account impersonating the crown prince.

The first red flag from the token was the absence of any official government communication and a lack of details on the project’s tokenomics or underlying utility.

Shortly after the scam coin was launched, the original owners of the X account, the Saudi Law Conference, confirmed that their X account was hacked by impersonators, according to a Feb. 17 LinkedIn post, which stated:

“The conference management announces that the official conference account in the X platform (@Saudilawconf) has been hacked and that any content currently published through the account does not represent our opinions or official orientations in any way.”

The scam token’s launch came days after the rapid rise and fall of Argentine President Javier Milei-endorsed Libra (LIBRA) token, which lost over 94% of its value within hours after insider wallets cashed out $107 million worth of liquidity from the token, Contelegraph reported on Feb. 15.

To stay safe amid the current wave of memecoin scams, investors need to conduct more “due diligence” about a project’s backing and its tokenomics, according to Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert. He told Cointelegraph:

“Don’t just throw your cash at something because it’s got a catchy name or claims to be ‘official.’ Check who’s behind the project. If the team is all mysterious or you can’t dig up any real info on them, that’s a red flag waving right in your face.”

“Transparency is key; if they won’t show their faces, they might just be looking to run with your money,” he added.

Memecoins backed by political figures lead to multi-million investor losses

Another significant red flag for investors was that the token contract for the fake Saudi Arabia memecoin was launched onchain on Feb. 10, a week ahead of the announcement, on Solana-based memecoin launchpad Pump.fun.

However, the token failed to attract investor capital, amassing only $7,489 worth of market capitalization since it launched, Pump.fun data shows.

Retail investor appetite for celebrity-endorsed memecoins has been boosted since US President Donald Trump launched his Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin on Jan. 18, followed by First Lady Melania Trump’s Melania Meme (MELANIA) token on Jan. 19.

However, these tokens have underperformed the wider cryptocurrency market so far.

The Trump token is currently down over 76% from its all-time high, while the Melania coin is down over 90%, TradingView data shows.

The Javier Milei-endorsed Libra coin is also down over 92% from its peak price of $4.56 recorded on Feb. 15, shortly before insider wallets caused a $4 billion meltdown for the coin, Dexscreener data shows.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/saudi-prince-impersonators-launch-fake-saudi-arabia-memecoin

Anndy Lian

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”.

www.anndy.com

j j j

February 18th, 2025

Scammers launch fake Saudi Crown Prince cryptocurrency

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.

Source: https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/scammers-launch-fake-saudi-crown-prince-cryptocurrency-93CH-3872523

Anndy Lian

www.anndy.com

j j j

October 25th, 2022

Metaverse Cops: INTERPOL Launch Online Virtual Global Police Force

INTERPOL’s metaverse is designed for law enforcement around the world
INTERPOL warns of rising crime in the metaverse
Will INTERPOL become the new sheriff of the metaverse?

Metaverse cops: INTERPOL, the global police organization, have unveiled the first metaverse designed specifically for law enforcement around the world.

INTERPOL announced that the fully operational metaverse allows registered users to tour a virtual office at INTERPOL’s General Secretariat headquarters in Lyon, France. This is without geographical or physical boundaries. Users can interact with other officials through their avatars. Users can even conduct immersive training courses on forensic investigation and other policing capabilities.

According to INTERPOL, its metaverse is “designed for law enforcement around the world.” They say it will help global forces “interact with other officers through their avatars.”

It seems that INTERPOL wants to prepare for the possible future expansion of the metaverse. Madan Oberoi is the Executive Director of Technology and Innovation at Interpol. “The metaverse has the potential to transform every aspect of our daily lives, with huge implications for law enforcement.”

Oberoi says there is only one way for the police to understand the functioning of bad actors in this new virtual environment. “For the police to understand the metaverse, we have to experience it.”

INTERPOL warns of rising crime in virtual worlds

According to INTERPOL’s latest Global Crime Trends report, crime has increasingly moved to the internet as the pace of digitization increases.

“As the number of users of the metaverse grows and the technology continues to develop, the list of potential crimes will only expand to potentially include crimes against children, data theft, money laundering, financial fraud, counterfeiting, ransomware, phishing, and sexual assault and harassment.”

The creation of the metaverse for global policing began when the international body’s roundtable asked a question. “How can law enforcement continue to protect communities and ensure the rule of law?” Humans are interacting in new ways. So, the “limits of the physical world will increasingly shift towards a digital realm, seemingly without borders.” Therefore policing must be prepared for this new digital environment.

Will INTERPOL become the new sheriff of the metaverse? At least it seems that they don’t want to be left behind.

Metaverse cops — Source: INTERPOL (Lyon headquarters)

The new trend among police agencies?

INTERPOL is not the first police division to launch a metaverse. Recently a division of the Dubai police launched its own metaverse police.

So the question remains. If a crime happens in the metaverse, is it really even a crime? Do we need a police force in the metaverse? And the most important question of all: Can metaverse cops catch Do Kwon?

Source: https://beincrypto.com/metaverse-cops-interpol-launch-online-global-police/