White Castle is reporting that its Twitter account has been hacked.
White Castle management learned of the hack shortly after 11 a.m. EST when unusual tweets began appearing on the account. The company’s tech team is working diligently to regain control of the account. In the meantime, White Castle wants its Twitter followers to know that it is not in control of the account or tweets that are posted.
The hacker, who introduced himself as Aubrey the Elf and apparently works for Santa Claus, took over the account this morning and began tweeting his demands. He wants a permanent White Castle in his hometown, the North Pole, as well as a freezer filled with the same frozen Sliders that are sold in grocery stores (and a microwave of his own to cook them in). He has been tweeting two to three times an hour, telling White Castle’s Twitter followers that he’ll get them on Santa’s Nice List if they support his cause.
“It’s not unusual for our Craver fans to leverage social media in campaigns to request a White Castle in their community,” says Jamie Richardson, a vice president at White Castle. “But we’ve never had anyone – an elf no less – take over our Twitter account to get their point across. This is a first for us.”
The hacker said he’ll continue tweeting throughout the day until White Castle meets his demands. (In addition to landing a Castle at the North Pole, he’s also asking for a #8 Combo Meal.) It’s a promise he appears to be keeping, as he most recently began tweeting a link to the Craver Nation customer loyalty app and releasing the coupon codes for free and discounted food, including a free six-piece chicken rings, a free Original Slider combo meal and 20% off of entire orders.
“I’m holding the Craver Nation coupon codes hostage. Every hour that White Castle doesn’t answer I give out free food,” tweeted the hacker, who is hoping to generate support using the hashtag #BringWhiteCastleToTheNorthPole.
The hacker also tweeted a short survey, asking where White Castle should put the North Pole restaurant – by the CIA’s secret bunker or near the Elf Eggnog Bar.
“The results of the survey won’t matter. It’s highly unlikely that we’ll be building a White Castle at the North Pole anytime soon,” Richardson says. “But we are honored that one of Santa’s elves thinks so highly of White Castle that he’s willing to take such drastic measures to have his voice heard. It’s not our place to judge, but we hope Santa doesn’t put him on the Naughty List for this.“
In addition to hacking White Castle’s Twitter account, the mischievous elf also hacked the company’s website and inserted himself into the Cravers Hall of Fame display, replacing photos of actual Hall of Famers with images of himself.
“We’re hoping to get these breaches taken care of by tomorrow at the latest,” Richardson says. “Maybe then this Aubrey the Elf character can get back to the important work at hand. We can only imagine this time of year creates its own set of pressures.”
