Phishing attack? How billionaire Mark Cuban's Gmail account got hacked
What's the story
American billionaire and Shark Tank US judge, Mark Cuban, revealed today that his Gmail account was compromised. The breach occurred after a fraudulent call from an individual posing as a Google representative. The hacker, who identified himself as 'noah,' allegedly manipulated Google's recovery methods to gain unauthorized access. He alerted his followers about the incident via a post on X, warning them against any emails sent from his account after 3:30pm PST, Saturday (5:00am IST, Sunday).
Online response
Cuban's appeal to public
Cuban took to X to share his experience, writing, "Hey @google @sundarpichai. I just got hacked at my mcuban@gmail.com because someone named noah at your 650-203-0000 called and said I had an intruder and spoofed googles recovery methods." In response to Cuban's post, one user suggested the hack could be due to a spoofed SIM card set to a false Google number. "Phone numbers can be spoofed. You got social engineered, what's Google got to do with it?," user commented.
Twitter Post
Take a look at Cuban's post
Hey @google@sundarpichai I just got hacked at my mcuban@gmail.com because someone named noah at your 650-203-0000
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) June 22, 2024called and said I had an intruder and spoofed googles recovery methods.
If anyone gets anything from mcuban@gmail.com after 3:30pm pst it’s not me.
Public reaction
Netizens find humor in incident
Amid the serious discussions, some users found humor in the situation, with one suggesting that Cuban should be considered a Russian asset until proven otherwise. Another user said, "This feels like a post my grandma would make on Facebook." One of them said "Imagine being a billionaire and publicly admitting you fell for a scam normally targeted at 90 year olds."