The Chief Executive of Hong Kong, John Lee Ka-chiu, became a victim of impersonation on Twitter when a fake account announced the launch of a National Hong Kong Coin. However, the official Facebook account of John KC Lee promptly denied the false information.
In a surprising turn of events, a post on the fraudulent Twitter account falsely claimed that the National Hong Kong Coin would be released on the Solana blockchain, sparking excitement in the cryptocurrency community. The post declared, "I am proud to announce the upcoming launch of the National Hong Kong Coin on the Solana blockchain, marking a new era of digital innovation and economic growth for Hong Kong."
Following this announcement, the fake account informed its 40,000 followers about the official launch time set for 02:00 PM Hong Kong time. Some users even praised the move as a strategic advancement towards digital innovation and economic prosperity.
However, the real John KC Lee took to his verified Facebook account to denounce the false claims regarding the National Hong Kong Coin launch. He warned the public against falling for the deception and urged them to stay cautious.
In a statement, John KC Lee clarified, "Someone impersonated me on the internet by spreading false information about the National Hong Kong Coin launch on the blockchain. This misinformation is fake and intentionally deceptive. The matter has been reported to the authorities for further investigation. I urge everyone to be vigilant, seek validation, verify authenticity, and guard against deceit."
Further investigation by BeInCrypto revealed that the official website of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong redirects users to the genuine Facebook account of John KC Lee, with no connection to the dubious Twitter account.
Legislative Council member Johnny Ng also confirmed the impersonation and cautioned the public against the scam.
Despite the warnings, the coin's market capitalization briefly surpassed $200,000 post-launch before plummeting to just over $3,200. This incident adds to the trend of fraudulent crypto projects associated with political figures, like TRUMP, CAR, and LIBRA, which have faced criticism for lacking utility and witnessing steep value declines post-launch, raising skepticism within the crypto community.
Reflecting on the situation, a user on social media commented, "As if $LIBRA, $CAR, and other coins didn't cause enough harm. Embrace blockchain utility solutions and refrain from launching meme coins."