NFT Scams: How to Avoid Falling Victim
Over the past year, NFTs have become a multi-billion dollar sector of the crypto industry, with scams becoming more sophisticated and very easy to get caught.
Phishing and unknown pop-up windows
Registering a wallet that conducts transactions on the Ethereum network is required to purchase NFT.
According to Buidlbee, users of the Ethereum MetaMask wallets on the PancakeSwap platform have lately been the victim of phishing scams, which involved phony adverts asking for access to users' personal wallets or a 12-word security phrase, resulting in losses totaling at least $500,000
When attacking a MetaMask wallet, the scammer attempts to take the user's secret key in order to access the wallet if they possess one or give them a passphrase that allows them to steal funds when transferring.
The onslaught begins with a Google advertising campaign. The scammer makes a phony MetaMask website that looks much like the real one but varies by one or two letters. The user may actually import their existing wallet while setting up a new one, which gives fraudsters access to their personal key and all of their currency.
The scammer will reveal their passphrase to the user if they establish a new wallet. Through phishing, an attacker may steal your private info and empty your digital wallet of all its bitcoin.
How to avoid becoming a victim of phishing
Typically, the only times you'll need a seed phrase are for hardware wallet backups and wallet restores. Never provide information when inside a MetaMask window or any other popup. Never submit details for any cryptocurrency exchanges via links, pop-up windows, or email; always go straight to a trusted website.
Falsified personas and catfishing
Popular NFT communities frequently engage influencers and celebs to advertise them since NFT sales take place online and all promotion is done on social networks, making it impossible to discern which ones are true and which aren't.
How to Avoid Catfishing
Never respond to a private message from a someone who declares themself to be a founder, influencer, or celebrity. Senior staff members will never write you a direct message until you first message them or reach an understanding in a channel on Discord or a public thread on Twitter, which is widely known in the NFT community.
Pump-and-dump schemes
This phrase describes a scenario in which a number of people acquire a large number of NFTs or coins in order to artificially boost demand. When prices rise after they are prosperous, the con artists pay out, leaving everyone with devalued assets.
How to avoid pump-and-dump
Examine the background and financial records of any business you are considering. Monitor the quantity of purchases and payments made for the NFT collection on OpenSea or any other NFT platform; in EtherScan, you can view all inbound and outbound Ethereum blockchain operations.
Fake NFTs
It is important to keep in mind that possessing intellectual property (IP) on a piece of art does not equate to minting it as an NFT.
Anyone may convert any picture or photo into an NFT using the user-friendly OpenSea program, regardless of who owns the IP rights to that address. The work of an artist may be readily stolen by con artists, who then make a fake OpenSea account and sell the stolen artwork there. As soon as the community realizes it's a fraud and there's no method to get your funds refunded, this will effectively make your NFT useless.
How to avoid fake NFTs
Before buying NFTs, ensure that the piece of art you are buying is from a verified account. Search for the blue sign next to the author's profile image on OpenSea or other NFT marketplaces.
Contact the artist on Twitter, their website, or other social media networks if there isn't one. Inquire with them directly whether they are the owner of the work of art you wish to purchase and if their user profile is correct. Ask other people in the community whether the NFT artist or work has a Discord channel.
Avoid counterfeit blue marks. A blue check mark denotes a verified account on the outside of the profile photo, not within it.
NFTs are essentially at the ICO stage right now, according to Nelson Merchan Jr., co-founder and CEO of blockchain PR agency Light Node Media. "Anyone may pay an artist to produce a specific quantity of NFTs, and then use crypto influencers to generate a lot of excitement."
Since so many NFT collectors and makers now utilize well-known cartoon NFT profile images (PFPs) and anonymous Twitter identities, this "hype" makes it challenging to tell who in the NFT world is a legitimate creator and who is a poor actor.
