“Even my mum rang me”: Professional footballer hacked on Instagram and blackmailed

Rot-Weiß Erfurt was briefly abuzz after a sudden, unexpected deposit appeared in the club’s bank account, but it quickly emerged that the mysterious crypto post from Raphael Assibey-Mensah was linked to a cyber-attack and an extortion attempt.

Raphael Assibey-Mensah of the long-established Thuringian club Rot-Weiß Erfurt has revealed that his personal Instagram account was targeted in a malicious cyber-attack.

The story began with a post that sent shockwaves through his followers. In it, the Leipzig native boasted about a huge cryptocurrency windfall. 

The success story was backed up by what appeared to be a screenshot of a transaction on his Sparkasse account.
But appearances were deceiving. 

While his followers were still puzzling over the striker’s sudden windfall, Assibey-Mensah had already lost control of his digital persona. The professional only realised the full extent of the incident when his private circle reacted.