X mulls new rules for first-time crypto posts amid tortoise scam

Written by Turner Wright, Staff WriterReviewed by Robert Lakin, Staff EditorX mulls new rules for first-time crypto posts amid tortoise scam6 hours agoAn executive said the social media platform could lock accounts mentioning crypto for the first time and require verification after a scammer faked reports of a tortoise’s death.       Listen0: 00 Cointelegraph in your social feed           Social media platform X is considering implementing new rules for first-time user posts about crypto in an effort to crack down on scammers using phishing attacks to gain access to accounts. Nikita Bier, the head of product at the platform formerly known as Twitter, made the announcement on Wednesday amid reports that a scammer pretending to be a veterinarian previously responsible for the health of a 193-year-old tortoise named “Jonathan” conned social media users into buying crypto before the truth was revealed. Bier said that X could auto-lock accounts mentioning crypto for the first time and require them to go through verification. “This should kill 99% of the incentive, especially since Google isn’t doing shit to stop the phishing emails, ” read his post. A scammer pretending to be the veterinarian responsible for Jonathan reportedly posted a link to a Solana-based memecoin before the BBC and other news outlets revealed the truth on Thursday. Data from CoinMarketCap showed the price of the Solana-based memecoin, called JONATHAN, surged by more than 6,000% amid the social media posts before sharply dropping. At the time of publication, the token was priced at $0.00007043. Related: Alleged Huione money-laundering boss extradited to ChinaCrypto scammer faked death report of world’s oldest tortoiseAccording to the BBC report, a scammer on the social media platform X, pretended to be veterinarian Joe Hollins, posting that the tortoise had died on the British territory of Saint Helena, an island in the Atlantic.