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Changpeng “CZ” Zhao issued an urgent warning to crypto traders on Sunday after a series of verified social media accounts—including BNB Chain and PancakeSwap—were hijacked to promote fake meme coins that collectively trapped millions in exit scams.
The former Binance CEO told his 11 million X followers that even official accounts posting contract addresses can no longer be trusted, as hackers increasingly target verified badges to manufacture legitimacy.
![“With the rise of meme coins, hackers are targeting social media accounts (as they usually have lower security measures) to post CAs [contract addresses],” — CZ, on X. “Beware that official accounts do not endorse any specific memes,” he added.](https://thebitgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Screenshot_20251020-104407_X.avif)
The latest meme coins scam wave saw the BNB Chain X account compromised to promote a fake BNB meme coin disguised as an airdrop event. The hacker behind the attack pooled users’ funds into a meme token named “4”, only to execute a rug pull and profit about $4,000 before abandoning the scheme.
In a twist, the BNB community mocked the attacker by buying and pumping the token’s price by 500% after the hack, before letting it collapse again.
“Interestingly, after the hacker dumped ALL his tokens for a $4k gain, the community took over and bought the meme coin higher, as a mock to the hacker. Funniest comeback by the community!” — CZ, commenting on the incident.
Just weeks earlier, the PancakeSwap X account suffered a similar hack on October 8. The attacker used the compromised account to promote a coin called “Sir Pancake”, which recorded $20 million in trading volume shortly after launch.
The meme coins scam trend has extended beyond crypto. In late 2024, rapper Drake’s X account was hacked to promote a fake coin called ANITA, which reached $4.9 million in volume. Similarly, in February 2025, Dior’s account was compromised to market a fake DIOR meme coin that soared 138% in value before crashing by 90% when the brand regained control.In another case, Walt Disney Instagram account was hacked to promote a fake Solana meme coin.
Despite repeated meme coins scam warnings, trading activity within the BNB Smart Chain (BSC) ecosystem has surged. Meme coin launchpads like Four.Meme and PancakeSwap have driven record DEX volumes, with Four.Meme briefly overtaking Solana-based Pump.fun in 24-hour revenue earlier this month.
CZ, maintaining a neutral stance, acknowledged the meme coins scam trend as both a risk and a sign of market creativity. He emphasized the importance of utility-driven projects instead of speculative tokens.
“I didn’t expect this at all. And people keep asking me to predict the future… Keep building!” — CZ, celebrating what he called the ‘BNB meme season’.
Earlier this year, CZ had described the BNB meme coin ecosystem as “immature,” following an influx of dog-themed coins inspired by his pet dog, Broccoli. Despite skepticism, the trend has accelerated, drawing traders from Solana to BNB’s growing meme culture.
The rise in meme coins scam incidents underscores the ongoing tension between crypto innovation and investor protection. While meme coins often represent creativity and community humor, their association with fraudulent schemes threatens wider trust in the industry.
Experts warn that social media-based scams could intensify unless stronger security and verification standards are enforced. For now, CZ’s reminder serves as a timely warning: in a space where virality drives value, even a verified account can’t guarantee legitimacy.
