By Katherine Itoh—
NBC News
The account of the late American actor Matthew Perry on the social network X was hacked by scammers who tried to request cryptocurrency donations through a fraudulent website.
“We have received reports that Matthew's official X account has been hacked and is directing users to a fraudulent site soliciting donations via cryptocurrency,” the Matthew Perry Foundation wrote in a statement.
“Please do not donate to this site or share the fraudulent posts on social media.”
“MatthewPerryFoundation.org is the only website associated with the foundation, and we are only accepting donations through this site,” the organization added.
Actor Matthew Perry in a photograph from 2015.Brian Ach / Invision/AP file
The post has been deleted.
No information was released about the identity of the scammers or the amount of money stolen.
Perry died last October after being found unconscious in a hot tub at his home in Southern California.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office later revealed that Perry died "from the acute effects of ketamine."
He was 54 years old.
Famous for playing Chandler Bing on the comedy series
Friends
, Perry struggled with alcohol and opioid addiction, and spent several seasons in rehab.
Perry candidly shared her experience in a memoir detailing her addiction to Vicodin after a jet ski accident in 1997, and a near-death experience in 2019 after her colon was damaged by opioid use.
The Matthew Perry Foundation was created in the actor's name to help people struggling with addiction and eliminate the stigma around seeking medical care.
The organization is a donor-advised fund, sponsored and supported by the National Philanthropic Trust.