Technology
Anonymous appears to HACK Twitter account impersonating “New York hero” Zack Tahhan who spotted Brooklyn subway shooter
ANONYMOUS USA appears to have hacked a Twitter account that was posing as Zack Tahhan, the man who caught the Brooklyn subway shooter.
The hacker group allegedly tweeted from the account that they hacked into it “at the request of some people because it was impersonating the name of the New York Hero Zack Tahhan.”
Zack Tahhan reportedly identified and notified the police of Frank James’ location.Getty
Hacker group Anonymous is allegedly behind the hackGetty Images – Getty
Previous tweets from the account are written in first-person as if they were written by Tahhan.
Another tweet from the account reads: “This account (Twitter) is being managed by a group of social media experts. Fans of Zack.”
The account was taking donations for Tahhan, but later tweeted they had all been returned.
Most of the previous tweets were deleted, but some remain, including posts where “Zack” thanked people who were posting videos of interviews with him.
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One tweet from the account reads: “Thank you everyone for the wishes what I did it was protecting my City [heart emoji] and being a good citzin. Shout out to NYPD and everyone involved catching the bad guy.”
Joyce Karam, a senior correspondent at The National, tweeted a warning to her followers about accounts impersonating Tahhan.
“Please be wary of FAKE accounts on @Twitter pretending to be Zack Tahhan, some asking for money. 1- He is NOT on Twitter 2- He is NOT running fundraisers 3- He is only on FB & Insta 4- He wants people to know, unfollow these accounts and spread word. Report those accounts”
The account was created in November of 2021 and has over 22,000 followers.
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Both the profile picture and header image were changed to photos of the Guy Fawkes mask, the symbol of Anonymous.
Some users are skeptical Anonymous is behind the hacking. One user wrote: “I’m pretty sure this is not “anonymous” but rather the original m*s who used Zack’s identity, now trying to get out of this bc people found out”
Anonymous is a decentralized international activist and hacktivist collective and movement.
The group is known for its various cyberattacks against several governments and corporations.
Who is Zack Tahhan?
Tahhan, 21, is being hailed as a hero after he saw Frank R James walking in Manhattan’s East Village Wednesday afternoon and called the police, who slapped the cuffs on him shortly before 2pm.
“We caught him!” the tipster yelled as he was applauded and heralded by fellow New Yorkers and surrounded by media outlets.
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Tahhan saw James on security cameras and quickly called the police to let them know his whereabouts.
Tahhan is a security camera technician from Syria who arrived in the US five years ago and speaks five languages, reports The Guardian.