The White House made a serious mistake by promoting a fake account claiming to be Paul S. Atkins, the newly appointed Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The account was tagged in an official White House post celebrating Atkins’ swearing-in ceremony—but soon after, it was used to promote a crypto scam.
Atkins, who served on the SEC from 2002 to 2008, took on the agency’s top role during a ceremony at the White House. In a statement, Atkins said, “I am honored by the trust and confidence President Trump and the Senate have placed in me to lead the SEC. As I return to the SEC, I am pleased to join with my fellow Commissioners and the agency’s dedicated professionals to advance its mission to facilitate capital formation; maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and protect investors.”
The White House shared a video of Atkins’ swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday, tagging the account @PaulSAtkins. But just hours later, that account began posting messages asking followers to send cryptocurrency donations.
The account, which was not Atkins’s official profile, posted, “Hi crypto believers! I’m all in on this revolution,” along with several cryptocurrency wallet addresses. The post urged people to “send some love” in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, and Ripple.
According to the SEC, the account never belonged to Atkins. The fake profile, which had a paid blue checkmark and listed an encrypted email address, quickly received around $5,000 in various cryptocurrencies from unsuspecting followers.
The White House quickly deleted its original tweet and reposted without tagging the fake account.
However, other Trump administration accounts continued tagging the scammer’s profile.
Atkins, a supporter of cryptocurrency, had joined the Token Alliance in 2017, but it seems unlikely he would ask people for donations this way. The fake account also had a “parody” disclaimer, and it’s unclear when the blue checkmark or the disclaimer were added. Despite attempts to contact the email address listed in the profile, the Daily Dot did not receive a response.
This incident has raised questions about the ease with which scammers can impersonate high-profile figures online and the responsibility of public accounts to verify authenticity before sharing or endorsing accounts.
