TRON DAO’s X Account Breached in High-Stakes Social Engineering Heist

Hackers outmaneuvered TRON DAO’s security protocols—proving even blockchain’s golden child isn’t immune to human error.

Behind the breach: A multi-layered social engineering play that bypassed 2FA and compromised internal comms. The attackers impersonated key team members with frightening precision.

Damage control: TRON’s team froze the account within 47 minutes, but not before the hackers promoted a malicious staking pool to 2.3M followers. Classic ’give us your crypto’ scam with better branding.

Silver lining? The breach exposed critical security gaps before larger funds were at risk—though that’s cold comfort for anyone who clicked the phishing links.

Meanwhile in TradFi land: Bank executives are still getting hacked via fax machines and pretending blockchain is the risky technology.

• TRON DAO’s X account was breached through a social engineering attack, triggering a major response.
• The hacker used the verified profile to spread malicious content, including phishing links and fake offers.
• Investigation is ongoing, with law enforcement and key crypto platforms now involved.

On May 2, the official X account of TRON DAO was hacked in a highly coordinated online breach. This was not the result of a technical vulnerability but was instead a highly coordinated social engineering exploit.

We’re aware that our X account was compromised from 9:25 AM PST on May 2, 2025. During this time, an unauthorized party published a post containing a contract address (CA), sent direct messages (DMs), and followed various accounts unknown to us.

Please be reminded: TRON DAO will…

One of the TRON DAO members was the target of the manipulation, allowing the attacker direct access to the verified account of the company. Upon entry, the malicious party did not waste any time, posting the scam contract address and sending direct messages to unsuspecting users, as well as following new accounts, all sure indicators of a phishing attempt in progress.

Cybersecurity expert Dana Ellis discusses how social engineering remains one of the most successful methods of intrusion because it’s based on human mistake instead of technical vulnerability. 

Here, the attacker used trust and urgency, taking advantage of in-house protocols to side-step traditional security measures. The credibility of the account was undermined in a matter of minutes as the attacker contacted the community in the name of official communication.

TRON Urges Caution After Swift Attack

TRON DAO responded immediately. Upon detection of the breach, the intruder’s access was cut off and access to the account was reclaimed. The damage, though, did not stop at regaining access. 

The intruder persisted with efforts to seek payment from outside users even after getting logged off, with the bogus cover of selling promotional posts from the hacked account.

The platform team promptly warned its community not to trust any contract addresses or unsolicited DMs sent on May 2. They also flagged known attacker-linked accounts, including two on X and one Telegram handle. 

Communications have since been established with law enforcement agencies to trace the source and bring legal action against the perpetrators. Despite the fast recovery, the incident exposed vulnerabilities that come with digital influence and social presence in the Web3 environment.

Scams Persist Despite TRON’s Fast Response

While TRON DAO received appreciation for their open communication and prompt action, the event has created shockwaves across the greater Web3 space. It highlights the perpetual danger of phishing and the need for individual caution, even by established players.

As one of the largest blockchains with more than 275 million account holders and a market cap of $23.5 billion, TRON’s reputation is one that draws in the attention of malicious actors.

The long-term effect on trust in the community is yet to be seen. In the meantime, TRON DAO has sent strong reminders that no one shares contract addresses with anyone or accepts funds through direct message.

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