Not Your NPR: Scott Simon's X Account Gets Rugged Despite 971K Followers

NPR host Scott Simon has become the latest media personality to have his X account hijacked by cryptocurrency scammers. His colleague Steve Inskeep stepped in to warn followers that Simon is absolutely not pushing digital assets. Because nothing says "trusted public radio journalism" like a surprise $PEPE giveaway—allegedly.

Inskeep shared a direct message from Simon regarding the ongoing breach: "We are working to reverse this hack, and hope that @X will help. We think it's important to keep people talking to each other. Our account has meant a lot to people, and to us since 2009." Classic 2009 vibes—back when the biggest scam on the internet was Nigerian prince emails. How times have changed.

Simon's account (@nprscottsimon), with over 971,000 followers, was locked down to limit the damage. The profile currently displays a notice stating that posts are protected and only approved followers can view them—standard protocol when preventing scammers from broadcasting malicious links. Nothing says "exclusive content" like being forced to follow a compromised account just to see if it's actually the real Scott Simon or some degens pretending to be him.

A Growing Trend

Credibility and large audiences make reporters prime targets for hackers looking to promote fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes. These bad actors often employ pump-and-dump tactics or phishing links. It's almost like having a blue checkmark and a large follower count is a liability in Web3. Who knew?

Recent similar attacks include Paul Sperry from The New York Post. In May 2025, hackers infiltrated the New York Post's verified X account and sent direct messages impersonating Sperry to lure crypto users into a fake podcast interview via Telegram. The old "hey bro, check out this exclusive interview" play. Still works, apparently.

Nick Robinson, the veteran BBC journalist,