Several gay adult film performers and content creators have said they were targeted by cryptocurrency scammers who hacked their X accounts and demanded ransom payments in exchange for regaining access.
As first reported, wiredPatrick Bewley, a gay OnlyFans creator known as Daddy Patrick who appears on multiple adult websites, said his X account, which had amassed 132,000 followers, suddenly started posting pro-Trump and pro-MAGA content that he didn’t create.
On April 9, Bewley received a direct message from the account of adult film director and editor Jaythan Mark. The message asked Bewley to nominate Mark for the award, “because it sounded like something he would do,” Bewley said. wired.
The link redirected Bewley to what appeared to be an X login page. “But nothing was going on, or so I thought,” he said. wired. Later, the real Mark told me that he had not sent any messages regarding the award nomination. By then, the attackers had accessed Bewley’s account using a fake link and changed the associated name, phone number, and email address. The account’s handle was first changed to @DADDYPATRIOzvu and then a day later to @Fatherokdwcjo63.
Bewley’s partner, Jerry Burt, said Bewley’s account had been stolen and immediately reported the hack to X from his personal account. The account then went into “crazy MAGA mode,” replacing its banner and avatar with a black-and-white image of former White House adviser and right-wing activist Steve Bannon, promoting Bannon’s political podcast and video stream website WarRoom.org, and installing a link tree directing users to his various platforms.
On April 16, the hacker posted a pro-Trump meme on the account, and Burt asked how he could get it back.
“Just pay, that’s all,” the hijacker wrote in a message reviewed by investigators. wired While asking for $2,000 in GAT cryptocurrency. “Do you want this account or not? I’m not kidding.”
After Bewley refused to pay, the attacker sent a message to his employer, Ducati Studio Network, a porn production company that Bewley recently joined as chief marketing officer, demanding $3,000 in cryptocurrency. The account continued to post pro-MAGA content, but Bewley said this hurt his brand because many followers did not want to support performers associated with right-wing ideology.
“If you ask me what the potential harm is, being involved in MAGA as a gay content creator is like saying you’re a Nazi,” Bewley said. “It’s a no-go zone. There’s no middle ground.”
Beyond the damage to the brand, Beauly losing control of his account means he will have to start building his following again, a metric that performers and studios often consider when evaluating potential collaborators.
“This is the only platform that people look to as a measure of their standing, almost like a ranking,” Bewley told the magazine, explaining how adult content creators are using X to increase their visibility. “And when you have over 100,000 followers, everyone wants to work with you. You automatically have credibility.”
Bewley said she received no assistance from X Support to regain control of the service, even though she has a verified account and continues to pay for the service. Bewley said X told him there was no way to verify that he was the rightful owner of the account.
Bewley is not the only adult content creator targeted by scammers.
On April 12, Fabian Quezada, who goes by the name “Buck Bronco,” found himself locked out of his X account after receiving a WhatsApp message. According to screenshots seen by Wired, the attacker threatened Quezada, to which Quezada responded, “I don’t care what you’re going to do. It’s not my main source of income. So fuck off.”
Quesada said. wired He never asked how much it would cost to regain control of the account, believing that escalating the situation would only cost him money. He added that he had changed all bank accounts and credit cards “just to make sure nothing was compromised.”
Liam Angell, founder of musclebearporn.com, and Mark, the adult film director whose account was used to target Beauley, both spoke out. wired Their X account was hacked, but was eventually recovered. Mark said he lost access to his account for a month, during which time the hacker posted “a ton of cryptic tweets” and sent messages to his 68,000 followers.
According to wiredthe attack began at about the same time that X began attacking the entire platform. purge Number of fake, inactive, and spam accounts. This “cleanup” also led to the suspension and removal of human-run alternative accounts, including those used to moderate niche pornography.
Bewley then new Accounts that used previous handles to promote work in the adult film industry. In an April 26 post explaining the hack, he wrote, “Dad is back! New account with the same name. Follow me and help me get my audience back.”
The new account now has 9,491 followers, a far cry from its previous 132,000 followers. Undeterred, Bewley explained the process: wired It means “to build a sandcastle against the tide.”
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
