Airdrop Army

The Ethereum restaking protocol EigenLayer hit a serious roadblock on Friday when its Twitter account got hijacked. Hackers quickly moved to post deceptive content, luring users into a fake airdrop scam and swiping valuable crypto from unsuspecting wallets.

Fake Airdrop, Real Damage

It all started Friday morning, when EigenLayer’s official Twitter feed showed a series of posts promoting a fake airdrop. These posts claimed users could score big by participating in an EIGEN token reallocation, supposedly linked to EigenLayer’s Season 2 airdrop. But the links directed to a phishing site, not EigenLayer’s legit page. So, if users clicked and authorized their wallets, those wallets quickly got drained.

Security firms flagged the issue. PeckShield and Scam Sniffer called it out immediately, but not before one user reported losing $800,000 in crypto. A painful hit, for sure, and other wallets may still be vulnerable.

Deceptive Tactics Go Unchecked

The scammers weren’t playing around. They used a mix of emotional hooks and humor—at one point posting a dog in a flower crown—to entice clicks. And the messages were timed to take advantage of existing hype, which helped convince victims that the airdrop was real. Though EigenLayer’s Season 2 airdrop ended last month, the posts played into FOMO, leading users to think they had another shot.

Protocol Responds to Crisis

Eigen Labs quickly issued a warning after the hack was confirmed. “The @EigenLayer handle has been compromised,” they said in a post. “Please do not engage with any suspicious links and verify you are engaging with ‘eigenlayer.xyz.’” Despite this, the damage was done.

The situation highlights a growing issue in crypto spaces—social platforms being used for massive phishing attacks. Users now have to stay on alert because once a wallet is compromised, there’s rarely a way to recover lost assets. EigenLayer has not yet confirmed whether they’ve regained control of their account or how the attackers breached it in the first place.