Scam Alert: UK MP Lucy Powell’s X Account Used to Pump Coin
On April 15, 2025, Lucy Powell, a prominent UK Member of Parliament and Leader of the House of Commons, fell victim to a crypto scam...
On April 15, 2025, Lucy Powell, a prominent UK Member of Parliament and Leader of the House of Commons, fell victim to a crypto scam after her X (formerly Twitter) account was compromised.
Cybercriminals used her verified account to promote a token called the “House of Commons Coin” (HOC), falsely presenting it as a community-driven cryptocurrency. The posts urged her followers to invest in the Solana-based token, misleadingly claiming it was backed by Powell herself.
Powell’s team quickly confirmed the account breach, working to lock it down and remove the misleading content. Despite the effort to hype up HOC, the token’s market impact was minimal. As per data from DEX Screener, HOC achieved a peak market cap of just $24,000, with around $71,000 in total trading volume and only 736 transactions. As of the latest reports, the coin’s market cap has fallen to a mere $3,800. This event highlights the increasing vulnerability of high-profile individuals and politicians to such scams.
Political Figures Targeted by Crypto Scammers
This incident is part of a troubling trend where political figures’ social media accounts are hijacked to promote fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes. While Powell’s association with crypto is non-existent, other public figures have found themselves unwittingly linked to such scams.
For example, last month, the X account of Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama was hijacked to promote a fake cryptocurrency, “Solanafrica.”
Similarly, Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ account was compromised in January, endorsing the “CUBA” token, which briefly reached a market cap of $30 million before crashing. In 2024, U.S. entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy was also targeted by scammers, who used his account to falsely announce a partnership with a stablecoin called USUAL.
Such hacks underscore the growing risks faced by public figures, even if they are not directly involved in the crypto world.
Scam Token Trends: Market Impact and Security Concerns
The rise in crypto scams targeting political accounts demonstrates the ease with which bad actors can manipulate high-visibility platforms for financial gain.
These scams often lead to brief token surges, followed by rapid crashes when the fraud is uncovered. In some cases, insiders benefit significantly, as seen with Argentina’s President Javier Milei, who inadvertently promoted the LIBRA token earlier this year, causing its value to spike by 3,000% before it collapsed by 90%.
The security vulnerabilities revealed by these incidents are concerning for both political figures and the broader cryptocurrency community. As such scams become more sophisticated, the need for robust security measures for high-profile accounts has never been more urgent.
Key Takeaways
Lucy Powell’s account was hijacked to promote a scam token, HOC.
The token saw limited market impact, with a peak market cap of $24,000.
High-profile political accounts are increasingly targeted by scammers.
Past incidents have seen tokens surge and then crash, often benefiting insiders.
This growing trend of scams highlights the need for stronger digital security to protect public figures and their followers from such fraudulent schemes.
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