BREAKING: 'Hackers' target House of Commons leader Lucy Powell in sinister scam

Hackers appear to have targeted the leader of the House of Commons with a string of sinister scam posts.

Lucy Powell's Twitter/X account was bombarded with messages about fake coins on Tuesday morning. The posts, which were swiftly deleted, carried the logo as they plugged a fraudulent "House of Commons Coin". Shortly after the first post was deleted another sinister advert - this time containing a photo of the frontbencher - appeared on Ms Powell's timeline.

By 11am there were 19 consecutive posts on her timeline advertising cryptocurrency - all of which were taken down within seconds. The has contacted Ms Powell and the House of Commons for comment.

It is the latest in a spate of scams which have seen high-profile figures have their social media accounts compromised. In January journalist Laura Kuenssberg was targeted by hackers plugging a fake coin as experts warn this type of fraud is becoming more common.

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The first post on Ms Powell's account, which was swifly taken down, promised: "Transparency. Participation. Trust." Around half an hour later a second advert appeared on her timeline. Minutes later a series of similar messages appeared, with almost 20 visible at one point.

Hackers have targeted celebrities to promote fake coins, often raking in millions of pounds. In December rapper Drake's /X posted a fraudulent advert pushing a memecoin called $ANITA. According to reports in the US, the scam generated $5 million before being removed.

Other high profile victims have included French footballer Kylian Mbappé and BBC journalist Nick Robinson. According to Merkel Science, fans of Mbappé invested over $1million before realising the post was a scam.

The research group said celebrities are often picked because of their "dedicated fan bases who may be more likely to trust and act on their crypto-related endorsements".

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