03.04.2026 20:48

Elon Musk’s X has unveiled a new “kill‑switch” aimed at wiping out cryptocurrency scams before they can profit. The platform will now automatically lock and verify any account that mentions crypto for the first time in its posting history, a move intended to neutralise the most common source of fraudulent activity on the site.

According to Head of Product Nikita Bier, the policy is designed to strip scammers of the financial motive that fuels their campaigns. By cutting off the reward structure for users who hijack established profiles, the company believes it can eliminate roughly 99 percent of the incentive driving these deceptive schemes.

Bier also took the opportunity to criticize Google for not eradicating phishing emails at the inbox level, a shortcoming that enables scammers to harvest credentials and launch further attacks. He highlighted the case of Benjamin White, who fell victim to a fake login page that silently captured both his password and two‑factor authentication code, subsequently redirecting his compromised account toward bogus crypto promotions. In response to White’s public recount of the breach, Bier replied, “Yeah, we’re aware,” and confirmed that X is actively rolling out the auto‑locking and verification feature. The initiative represents a proactive step toward dismantling the infrastructure of crypto‑focused fraud on the platform.