Bears’ official Twitter account hacked, announces new ownership

The Bears found one more thing they couldn’t block Sunday when their official Twitter account was hacked and used to announce fake news that the team had been sold. The fraudulent tweet went out to their 1.8 million followers and beyond.

The group that broke into the account revealed itself as OurMine and tweeted from the Bears’ account that the purpose was to ‘‘announce that we are back’’ and ‘‘show people that everything is hackable.’’ They sent out several additional tweets with their website and contact information before the Bears regained control.

The original tweet said the team had been sold to Saudi Arabia official Turki Al-Sheikh.

Al-Sheikh has won multiple awards for his sports-related endeavors and serves as chairman of his country’s General Authority for Entertainment.

The hackers also used the Bears’ standard hashtag — #Bears100 — to make the tweet seem more believable.

The Bears, valued at $2.4 billion, are owned by Virginia McCaskey. She is the daughter of founder George Halas, and the team has been in the family for more than a century. There has been no indication whatsoever that the McCaskeys are considering selling the team.

The Bears confirmed the hack shortly after it happened and believed they resolved the issue before noon.

‘‘Apologies that our account was compromised this morning,’’ the team account tweeted. ‘‘We’re back in the game & ready for the Pro Bowl.’’