Dean Norris, known for his role as Hank Schrader in Breaking Bad, fell victim to hackers who compromised his X account to promote a fraudulent memecoin named $DEAN. On January 26, Norris posted a video on his account confirming the hack and denouncing the coin as a “complete, fake scam.”
Hackers used Norris’s likeness, including a doctored image of him holding a paper with the coin’s ticker and launch date, to add legitimacy to the scheme. A manipulated video, appearing to show Norris endorsing the token, also circulated, leading some Reddit users to speculate it was either a deepfake or a misused Cameo clip. Norris clarified that he rarely uses X and has no Telegram account, revealing he discovered the hack only after receiving concerned texts from friends.
According to DexScreener, DEAN’s market cap briefly peaked at $8.43 million on January 25 before collapsing to under $60,000. The token’s price plummeted by over 96%, typical of pump-and-dump schemes.

This is not the first time Norris’s account has been hijacked for crypto promotions. A similar incident in November linked his account to a project associated with account takeovers targeting celebrities like Usher and brands like McDonald’s.
The hack follows recent memecoin frenzy sparked by President Donald Trump’s token launch, underscoring ongoing risks in the crypto space. Norris’s experience highlights the challenges of combating scams in an increasingly digital and decentralized world.