Hackers Target NFT Projects: Over $ 22 Million Lost Since May 2022

After stealing more than $ 1 billion in cryptocurrencies this year alone, hackers and cybercriminals have now turned to burgeoning non-fungible token (NFT) projects.

In a new investigation, a group of NFT hackers targeting Discord social media channels has grown rapidly in recent times. For example, data shows NFT scam cases increased by 55% in June alone.

Most scams are linked to a "larger group" of hackers

According to a recent report by security firm Web3 TRM Labs, the NFT community has been prey to hackers, losing over $ 22 million since May.

Chainabuse, a scam reporting platform operated by TRM, has filed over 100 scam reports in the past two months. According to the report, some major projects, such as BAYC, have been breached twice.

TRM's analysis found that hackers used sophisticated social engineering, such as phishing and fake accounts claiming to be an administrator, to scam Discord users.

They also used a "set of tactics" such as bots, which allow administrators to automatically post messages to the community without the user knowing. The press release states that:

"Hackers purposely targeted users already in possession of valuable NFTs, advertising a" BAYC, MAYC, and Otherside EXCLUSIVE Giveaway "and providing a fraudulent link inviting users to send a minting fee in ETH. 0 ″.

After gaining control of the victims' wallets, the NFTs from each compromised account were moved to a single wallet tied to the phishing link, the results add.

The examination revealed that the NFT movements stolen by the hackers were connected to a "larger" network. However, the number of groups involved remains unknown.

Yuga Labs, the company best known for creating the world's largest and most profitable NFT project, the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), has warned its users to beware of malicious attacks.

NFTs are a hotbed for hackers

As the number of NFT users continues to rise, phishers, hackers and other cyber criminals have also targeted this market, further threatening the security of the NFT community.

For example, a project called MoonManNFT stole nearly 400 NFTs under the free mint name.

Experts have suggested some ways to avoid falling victim to NFT scams. The main cause of NFT hacking is due to user visits to unofficial websites. It is important that users download the Web3 application or wallet from the official website.

Another way to protect digital currencies or collectibles is to check the domain name. One of the hackers' tactics is to create "knock-off" sites whose domain names are similar to the original site. It's best not to share login credentials and private keys with anyone who claims to be from the company or administrator, the experts noted.