Fraudulent pop-up messages displayed during the June 2025 Cointelegraph hack falsely claimed that users had been randomly selected for a new token giveaway as part of a “fair launch initiative.” They further misled users by asserting that the smart contract behind the promoted token had been audited by CertiK.

Quotes that support claims

The pop-up falsely claims users have been selected for a giveaway of a new token, purportedly part of a "fair launch initiative" by Cointelegraph to reward loyal readers. It displayed a fabricated token price and promised users just under $5,500 worth of tokens if they connected their crypto wallets. It also claimed security firm CertiK had audited the smart contract.

The fake pop-up claimed that users had been randomly selected for a new token giveaway as part of a “fair launch initiative” supposedly backed by Cointelegraph to reward loyal readers. Per several reports on social media, a malicious JS script was likely added to CT’s advertising system to display a fabricated token price, and promised each participant nearly $5,500 worth of tokens if they connected their wallet to the site. The pop-up also falsely alluded that blockchain security firm CertiK had audited the smart contract behind the token