A costly mistake and a wave of crypto drama have set Crypto Twitter (CT) ablaze after a user accidentally burned $75,000 worth of $PUMP tokens, and scammers quickly jumped in to hijack the narrative using the victim’s wallet address.

The incident began when a well-known crypto community member reported that they had unintentionally sent their $PUMP tokens to a burn address, permanently removing the funds from circulation. While on-chain data confirmed the transaction, the aftermath took an unexpected twist.

Mistake, Meet PUMP Token Chaos.

The $PUMP token, a popular memecoin launched as part of the latest wave of high-volatility trading, was riding a speculative hype wave when the mishap occurred. The user, whose wallet had previously attracted attention for extensive token holdings, meant to transfer the tokens elsewhere but mistakenly sent them to a dead address.

Shortly after the burn, multiple scam accounts began impersonating the wallet owner, referencing the wallet address in misleading ways. Some claimed the burn was part of a marketing stunt. Others tried to launch fake airdrops, copycat tokens, or phishing links tied to the incident, capitalizing on the attntion.

Blockchain sleuths noted dozens of spam tokens being sent to wallets interacting with the burn address. Engagement-farming bots reposted altered screenshots of the original burn tweet to drive clicks and drain wallets from unsuspecting users.

One scammer even set up a fake token called “$UNBURN” claiming it would “reclaim the lost $75K for the community”, a clear phishing attempt flagged by several security analysts.

Moreover, the situation has sparked fresh debate in the crypto space over wallet transparency and public wallet tracking.

On one hand, as public ledger activity enables community accountability and transparency, it also allows bad actors to latch onto high-profile addresses and turn genuine mistakes into clickbait or exploitative schemes.

Although the $PUMP token’s price saw brief volatility following the accidental burn, with some speculators treating the event as bullish due to reduced token supply, others dumped their holdings, fearing it was part of a rug pull or manipulation.