Linus Sebastian Alerts Fans After Linus Tech Tips’ X Account Hack and Scam Post Incident
4 min read
X@linusgsebastian
On August 12, 2024, the popular tech channel Linus Tech Tips (LTT) faced a significant security breach when its official X (formerly Twitter) account was hacked. The news of the hack quickly spread across social media, with users on the r/LinusTechTips subreddit sharing screenshots of suspicious tweets posted from the account. These unauthorized tweets offered a suspicious promotion, claiming to sell MacBook Pros for $600 each, complete with free shipping and a signature from Linus himself. The tweets also mentioned that all proceeds would go to charity, further enticing unsuspecting followers.
One of the tweets read, “Hello, Twitter family! I have a special promotion going on! I have 10 MacBook Pros on sale for $600 each! On top of that, I will be signing every MacBook that is sold, also free shipping is included! All proceeds will be going to charity! My DMs are open!” Accompanying the post was a photo featuring an Apple MacBook Pro and an iPhone, with the latter displaying Linus Tech Tips’ official X account, lending a semblance of credibility to the scam.
Linus Tech Tips Twitter account got hacked and the account is being used to get your payment information. pic.twitter.com/0YGYU4Nj7W
— Damaged Sector (@DamagedSector) August 11, 2024
Linus Sebastian, the founder of the Linus Tech Tips empire, quickly confirmed the hack on his personal accounts, alerting his followers and the broader community about the breach. In a series of posts, Linus detailed the situation, explaining how he had attempted to regain control of the account only minutes after receiving an email notification. However, by the time he tried to log in, the hackers had already changed the password and tampered with the two-factor authentication (2FA), effectively locking him out.
Linus expressed his frustration, tweeting, “BEWARE The main LTT Twitter account has been hijacked. 4 minutes after I received this email I tried to log in, but the password had already been changed. By the time I could update the password, the 2FA (two-factor authorization) had been deactivated/reactivated. I have contacted Twitter support.”
As the situation unfolded, Linus warned his followers not to engage with the scam posts that the hackers had put up, stating, “First scam post is up. Nothing I can do but sit here helplessly. Twitter does not allow me to reset the account or lock it in any way without the 2FA and they managed to reset it. Do not interact!”
**BEWARE** The main LTT Twitter account has been hijacked.
— Linus LinusMediaGroup (@linusgsebastian) August 11, 2024
4 minutes after I received this email I tried to log in, but the password had already been changed. By the time I could update the password, the 2FA had been deactivated/reactivated.
I have contacted Twitter support. pic.twitter.com/H5YCMfBxy2
Linus also took the opportunity to critique the platform’s security protocols, suggesting that X should allow users to lock down compromised accounts immediately rather than merely prompting them to log in again. He questioned the logic behind the current system, saying, “If anyone from Twitter is curious about how to prevent this going forward, how about when I get an email that says ‘if this wasn’t you…etc’ you give me the option to lock the account down instead of prompting me to log in. How can I log in if they compromised the account?”
Emily Young, a prominent member of the Linus Tech Tips team, also weighed in on the situation, echoing Linus’s concerns about the platform’s handling of the breach. In a pointed remark, she noted, “Ah good, yet another reason to stop using Twitter! For real though, regardless of how it happened (I don’t know, could be on us), the way they’re handling this should make bigger accounts and brands very nervous…”
Ah good, yet another reason to stop using Twitter!
— Emily Young (@EmilyAYoung1) August 12, 2024
For real though regardless of how it happened (I don’t know, could be on us), the way they’re handling this should make bigger accounts and brands very nervous… https://t.co/ajUet20ISw
Following the breach, the Linus Tech Tips’ official X account has been set to private as a precautionary measure. The incident has sparked widespread discussion about the security measures in place on social media platforms, particularly for high-profile accounts that are frequent targets of hacking attempts.
As of now, it remains unclear how long it will take for Linus and his team to regain full control of the account and whether any lasting damage was done. However, the situation has underscored the vulnerabilities that even well-known figures and brands face in the digital age, prompting calls for more robust security features on platforms like X.
Linus Tech Tips has been hacked again! First his YouTube account and now his X account. What could be causing this seemingly targeted harassment?#CrippledNews pic.twitter.com/J0t6B3h624
— Crippled News (@CrippledNews) August 12, 2024
Account appears to be locked down now (attached update from Luke)
— Linus LinusMediaGroup (@linusgsebastian) August 12, 2024
I'm not happy with the process, but I am grateful to everyone at Twitter who had better things to do on a Sunday and got this taken care of. pic.twitter.com/XXkl1bK5nn
Shivam Kumar
Hi, I'm Shivam Kumar. I'm pursuing Journalism honors from the IP University. I love the skill of writing and looking forward to learn more of it. Also I love traveling and experiencing new things every day....
