Baroness Thérèse Coffey's X account was hijacked by a crypto-promoting scammer who posted an AI-generated photo of her beside a Rolls-Royce and credited an account called @kareem_zoya. Coffey told The Telegraph she has identified the attacker's email and is attempting to recover the account, and admitted she had not enabled two-factor authentication. The breach echoes earlier intrusions of her accounts and a pattern of crypto-related hacks targeting UK politicians in recent years.
Thérèse Coffey’s X Account Hijacked to Promote Crypto Scam Using AI Image
The hacker posted an AI-generated photograph of Thérèse Coffey beaming while standing next to a Rolls-Royce
Former deputy prime minister Thérèse Coffey has had her X account taken over by a crypto-promoting scammer who posted an AI-generated image of the Conservative peer standing beside a Rolls-Royce.
The hijackers published a message that credited a hyperlinked profile called @kareem_zoya for helping to purchase the car. The post read:
"This July has given me so much to be grateful for. I started the year with a vision of getting a new car, and today I'm standing here with it. It's an amazing feeling to see that goal become a reality. Grateful for the support of @kareem_zoya, you made this possible."
Baroness Coffey confirmed to The Telegraph that her account had been compromised and said she had identified the perpetrator's email address and was working to regain control. She acknowledged the incident was not her first digital intrusion and said:
"It's not the first time I've been hacked and it won't be the last. I'll have to erect a more sturdy fortress."
She also said she was unsure how the attackers gained access because she uses X only on her phone and does not have two-factor authentication enabled:
"It is a bit of a pain but I'm trying to recover [the account]."
The profile named "kareem zoya" describes itself as a "Digital Entrepreneur" and invites followers to "Elevate [Their] Earnings" and "Start Trading Crypto," language commonly used in social media crypto-promotion schemes that often accompany account hijackings.
Coffey, 54, served briefly as deputy prime minister under Liz Truss in 2022 and has held several senior cabinet posts, including environment secretary, health secretary and work and pensions secretary. She was appointed to the House of Lords as a Conservative life peer in 2025.
This incident follows earlier breaches of Baroness Coffey's online presence. Shortly after becoming MP for Suffolk Coastal in 2010, a hacker accessed her website, blog and social accounts and posted abusive messages about Samantha Cameron, the then prime minister's wife. Similar hijackings affected UK politicians in 2024 — including Shabana Mahmood, Chris Elmore and Carolyn Harris — when attackers posted a message referencing a Solana token pump scheme. There is also precedent from 2016, when Jeremy Corbyn's Twitter account was briefly compromised.
Security experts say these incidents underline the growing use of social media account takeovers to amplify crypto scams and push fraudulent tokens. For users and public figures alike, enabling two-factor authentication and monitoring account activity are essential steps to reduce the risk of hijacking.
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