• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
FinanceNFTs

NFT artist Beeple’s Twitter account was hacked with a phishing scam, and people lost thousands of dollars

By
Andrew Marquardt
Andrew Marquardt
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Andrew Marquardt
Andrew Marquardt
Down Arrow Button Icon
May 23, 2022, 2:25 PM ET

The Twitter account of one of the most successful NFT artists was hacked on Sunday, and people lost thousands of dollars in crypto because of it.

Mike Winklemann, the digital artist and graphic designer known as Beeple, was hacked on Sunday by a scammer who posted two tweets from his account. The first tweet promoted an exclusive NFT drop with Louis Vuitton and the second announced that Beeple would release a set of exclusive NFTs for free, according to Crypto Daily.

Neither post was real, and Twitter users who clicked on the links featured in the scammers’ tweets automatically had one Ethereum drained from their crypto wallets. An estimated $71,000 in crypto was stolen from users’ accounts, Crypto Daily reported. 

Winklemann regained access to his account within a few hours of the hack, which he announced in a series of tweets. 

ugh we’ll that was fun way to wake up. 😫

Twitter was hacked but we have control now. Huge thanks to @garyvee ‘a team for quick help!!!! 🙏🙏🙏

— beeple (@beeple) May 22, 2022

“Stay safe out there, anything too good to be true IS A F******G SCAM,” Winklemann tweeted after regaining his account. “And as side note, there will never be a SURPRISE MINT I mention one time in one place starting at 6am Sunday morning.”

Many users replied to the Winklemann’s tweet sharing their experiences after clicking on the scammers’ links.

“My only blue chip NFT was stolen this morning to this scam. I had the misfortune of bad timing- saw the tweet about 30 seconds after it posted and thought it was just the sort of crazy random charitable thing you might do to change random people’s lives. Tough, valuable lesson,” tweeted one user.

Others wondered whether Winklemann would do anything to help users who lost funds in the phishing scam.

“Any chance you can return the ETH to the wallets that have been scammed? Would be a nice gesture from an artist as wealthy as yourself. How were the victims supposed to know it was a scam raffle if [it] is posted from your verified twitter account?” another user tweeted in response to Winklemann.

https://twitter.com/GreenwickJimmy/status/1528389554704719872

Winklemann did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment. 

Sign up for the Fortune Features email list so you don’t miss our biggest features, exclusive interviews, and investigations.

About the Author
By Andrew Marquardt
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Finance

Man holding his fists together.
InnovationElon Musk
Elon Musk bullet-proofed his $1 trillion ‘Mars-shot’ pay at SpaceX after the epic battle over his $56 billion moonshot at Tesla
By Amanda GerutJune 6, 2026
45 minutes ago
SpaceX needs to grow 60x in a decade to justify a $1.75 trillion valuation. No company has ever come close
InvestingFinance
SpaceX needs to grow 60x in a decade to justify a $1.75 trillion valuation. No company has ever come close
By Shawn TullyJune 6, 2026
4 hours ago
denton
CommentaryIran
ICC Secretary General: The Hormuz clock that matters isn’t diplomatic — it’s agricultural
By John W.H. Denton AOJune 6, 2026
4 hours ago
broker
InvestingMarkets
Markets have worst day since October as tech stocks lead the way down, traders lose hope of rate cut
By Damian J. Troise, Alex Veiga and The Associated PressJune 5, 2026
12 hours ago
Tech stocks lead market bloodbath as fears of Fed rate hikes add to worries about the AI-fueled chip boom petering out
Investingtech stocks
Tech stocks lead market bloodbath as fears of Fed rate hikes add to worries about the AI-fueled chip boom petering out
By Jason MaJune 5, 2026
13 hours ago
The Class of 2026: Meet the 12 companies making their Fortune 500 debut
Startups & VentureFortune 500
The Class of 2026: Meet the 12 companies making their Fortune 500 debut
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 5, 2026
13 hours ago

Most Popular

AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons
AI
AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 5, 2026
1 day ago
MacKenzie Scott's approach to her $26 billion giving spree was inspired by a book she read in college about writing
Success
MacKenzie Scott's approach to her $26 billion giving spree was inspired by a book she read in college about writing
By Sydney LakeJune 5, 2026
1 day ago
Social Security faces a 24% cut in 2032—that's a $345 billion hit to retirees nationwide, watchdog says
Economy
Social Security faces a 24% cut in 2032—that's a $345 billion hit to retirees nationwide, watchdog says
By Nick LichtenbergJune 5, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of June 5, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 5, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 5, 2026
22 hours ago
Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy
Cybersecurity
Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy
By Sasha RogelbergJune 3, 2026
3 days ago
'Big Tech is desperate': Amazon engineers are calling out the tech giant for its $200 billion in data center spending after slashing 30,000 workers
Environment
'Big Tech is desperate': Amazon engineers are calling out the tech giant for its $200 billion in data center spending after slashing 30,000 workers
By Sasha RogelbergJune 5, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.