LEGO Removes Crypto Scam From Homepage After Brief Hack: Report

Toy manufacturer LEGO Group swiftly removed a cryptocurrency scam from its homepage after a brief hack on October 5, according to reports. The fraudulent token, dubbed "LEGO Coin," appeared on the site for around 75 minutes, claiming to offer "secret rewards" to buyers.

LEGO enthusiast and X user "ZTBricks" was one of the first to notice the scam, sharing screenshots of the suspicious message that read: "Our new LEGO Coin is officially out! Buy the LEGO Coin today and unlock secret rewards!" Those who clicked on the "Buy Now" button were directed to a phishing site designed to steal their information.

Although LEGO has yet to publicly comment on the incident, the misleading message and the link have since been removed. In a statement to consumer tech platform Engadget, LEGO confirmed that the scam appeared only briefly and assured that no customer accounts were compromised. The company emphasized that the issue was resolved swiftly and added: "The cause has been identified and we are implementing measures to prevent this from happening again."

The scam appeared on LEGO’s homepage at around 1:00 AM UTC on October 5 and was removed approximately 75 minutes later, according to "mescad," a moderator of the LEGO subreddit. The incident took place at 3:00 AM in Billund, Denmark, where LEGO's headquarters are located.

While LEGO hasn't officially entered crypto or NFT space, there was speculation in March 2021 when LEGO's X account used the hashtag "#NFT" in a short clip featuring a rotating 3D LEGO brick. The post was deleted shortly after. However, in April 2022, LEGO’s parent company KIRKBI invested $1 billion in video game publisher Epic Games to boost its Metaverse ambitions.

Crypto scams have become increasingly prevalent, with blockchain security firm Scam Sniffer reporting that fraudsters stole $127 million in Q3 2024, including $46 million in September alone.