Scammers taking advantage of hype over NFTs

Scammers are taking advantage of the global attention being paid to cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), according to new research from Tenable.

Scammers have taken to hijacking verified and unverified Twitter accounts to impersonate popular NFT projects including Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Azukis, MoonBirds and OkayBears, warned Tenable’s Staff Research Engineer, Satnam Narang.

“The success of some of these blue chip NFT projects has paved the way for broader adoption by promoting upcoming integrations with their own metaverses, giving scammers ample opportunity to capitalise on new or rumoured announcements in relation to these projects,” he said. “These scams take place in a few different ways.”

One such method involves tagging users in Twitter replies in a bid to drive them to phishing websites that are spoofs of legitimate NFT project sites. Users are convinced to connect using their cryptocurrency wallets, after which scammers are able to transfer out digital currencies and NFTs.

Another method includes taking advantage of attention to airdrops, promotional campaigns to help bootstrap digital currency projects.

“Stories of ‘crypto millionaires’ are attractive and increase the desire for users to invest in cryptocurrency and NFTs. Unfortunately, scammers understand this desire all too well and will take advantage of those who are hoping to make a windfall,” Narang said.

“The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission received over 10,000 reports about cryptocurrency scams in 2021, with losses of about $129 million for the year.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Юлия Кондратьева