TLDR:
- Lucy Powell, UK Leader of the House of Commons, had her X account hacked to promote a scam cryptocurrency
- The “House of Commons Coin” reached a peak market cap of just $24,000 with only 736 transactions
- Powell’s staff quickly secured the account and removed the misleading posts
- This follows a similar hack of Ghana’s President John Mahama’s account in March to promote “Solanafrica”
- Hackers often use phishing emails to gain access to high-profile accounts to promote worthless coins
Lucy Powell, UK Leader of the House of Commons and Member of Parliament, became the latest political figure to have her social media account hacked by cryptocurrency scammers. The hackers took control of her X (formerly Twitter) account on April 15 to promote a fraudulent token called “House of Commons Coin” (HOC).
The compromised account shared multiple posts promoting HOC as “a community driven digital currency” before Powell’s team managed to regain control. A staff member confirmed to the BBC that “steps were taken quickly to secure the account and remove misleading posts.”
The scam token saw limited success despite being promoted to Powell’s nearly 70,000 followers. According to DEX Screener, HOC reached a peak market capitalization of only $24,000, with just 736 total transactions and a trading volume of $71,000.
Cryptocurrency Scam Tactics
Taking over popular social media accounts to advertise fraudulent cryptocurrencies is a common tactic used by cybercriminals. Hackers typically gain access through phishing emails containing malicious links that trick users into sharing their passwords.
The scammers create worthless tokens within hours and use trusted, high-profile accounts to encourage people to invest. Luke Nolan, a senior research associate at CoinShares, described the hack as a classic “pump and dump” scheme.
In this type of scam, the creators inflate the coin’s value, attract investors, and then sell their majority share for profit. Nolan noted that the House of Commons Coin had only 34 transactions, generating a profit of approximately £225 for the scammers.
Other Political Figures Targeted
Powell’s case follows a similar attack on Ghana’s President John Mahama in March 2025. Hackers took control of Mahama’s X account for 48 hours to promote “Solanafrica,” a scam cryptocurrency.
The hackers posted messages to Mahama’s 2.4 million followers claiming the project was “making payments fast and free across the continent with support from Solana and the Bank of Ghana.” His team regained control two days later.
Political Connections to Cryptocurrency
While Powell has not voluntarily promoted cryptocurrency before, some political figures have legitimately backed crypto tokens. U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump both launched and promoted memecoins shortly before entering the White House.
Argentine President Javier Melei also promoted a token called LIBRA, which crashed in value and led to calls for an investigation into his involvement.
Rising Cybersecurity Concerns
A House of Commons spokesperson stated: “UK Parliament takes cyber security extremely seriously. We provide advice to users – including Members – to make them aware of the risks and how to manage their digital safety.”
Action Fraud reported 35,343 cases of hacked social and email accounts in 2024. They recommend using two-factor authentication and strong, unique passwords consisting of three random words.
Earlier this year, BBC Radio 4 presenter Nick Robinson also fell victim to a similar hack. Posts on his account claimed he was launching a cryptocurrency called “$Today” after he clicked on a phishing email disguised as a message from X.
The hackers who targeted Powell included images of the House of Commons logo in their posts to make the scam appear more legitimate. The posts described the coin as bringing “people’s power to the blockchain” with values of “Transparency. Participation. Trust.”
