A pump-and-dump is a market manipulation scheme in which attackers or promoters artificially create excitement around an asset, then sell their own holdings after the price rises. The “pump” is the hype phase; the “dump” is the rapid exit that leaves late buyers with losses.
In cyber security, pump-and-dump often appears after attackers hijack trusted accounts, compromise influencers, or abuse automated posting tools to make a fake promotion look legitimate. Social platforms and crypto markets are especially vulnerable because a single official-looking post can move attention quickly. The attack is not only financial fraud; it is also an identity abuse problem, where trust in a brand or person becomes the delivery mechanism for deception. Defenders reduce risk with strong account protection, posting approvals for high-value channels, monitoring for unusual promotion patterns, and fast takedown or incident-response playbooks when a trusted identity is misused.