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Scammers hijack $438,000 in crypto assets

 


The Twitter accounts of figures and institutions , including the University of the Philippines and the NFT marketplace OpenSea , have fallen victim to a series of hacks in recent months. The aim of the hackers is to spread phishing links, mostly via social media accounts, in order to steal crypto assets. Now the Twitter account of Beeple aka Mike Winkelmann, the famous NFT artist from the USA, also had to accept it.


Beeple used as bait

Beeple became a target of hackers due to its large following and popularity on the internet. A phishing link was distributed via his Twitter account yesterday, May 22nd. Phishing is a fraudulent online activity that involves sharing links . If users click on the link, they involuntarily reveal sensitive data about themselves. For more credibility, hackers use profiles of trusted companies or individuals to trick individuals into giving up passwords and credit card information.


First scam costs followers $73,000

In the Winkelmann case, the scammers were probably trying to capitalize on the recent collaboration between Beeple and Louis Vuitton . In early May, Beeple designed 30 NFTs for the luxury fashion brand's smartphone game Louis The Game , which were offered to players as rewards.


Using the hacked account, the scammers invited unsuspecting users to enter a sweepstakes with the promise of a free mint for unique NFTs. Since Beeple's digital artworks are extremely popular in the scene and therefore particularly expensive, some followers fell for the scam and passed on their data.


The link was posted on Beeple's Twitter account for about five hours. An on-chain analysis shows that the first phishing link brought 36 Ether (ETH) into scammers’ wallets, which was worth about $73,000 at the time.



Another link nets scammers $365,000

The second link brought the scammers about $365,000 worth of ETH and lots of NFTs from high-value collections like Mutant Ape Yacht Club , VeeFriends , and Otherdeeds . The total value of the stolen funds rose to approximately $438,000.



On-chain data shows that the scammers sold the NFTs on OpenSea . They then put the stolen ETH into a crypto mixer to launder the profits.


Beeple reacts quickly

Winkelmann quickly regained control of his account with the help of Gary Vaynerchuck , founder of the VeeFriends NFT collection.



Earlier this month, cybersecurity company Malwarebytes released a report citing an increase in phishing attempts . More and more scammers are trying to capitalize on the NFT hype. The company found that using fraudulent websites impersonating legitimate platforms or individuals is the most common tactic used by scammers.


That's why Winkelmann writes to his 672,987 followers:


stay safe out there; anything too good to be true IS A F*CKING SCAM.


Mike Winkelman on Twitter

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