Recent Phishing Incident Involving NFT Trader
According to May 9 data from PeckShield, an NFT trader known as “tatis.eth” suffered a significant loss of over $145,000 in a phishing scam related to the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) tokens. The attacker, identified as “PinkDrainer,” successfully stole three valuable BAYC NFTs from the victim’s wallet, namely BAYC 7531, BAYC 6736, and BAYC 2100.
The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection, consisting of 100,000 Ethereum-based collectibles, is renowned for its influence and high value in the NFT market. The stolen NFTs were then transferred to a phishing address named “Fake_Phishing328357” and subsequently sold for 48.5 ETH, equivalent to $145,000, underscoring the financial impact of such scams.
ZachXBT reported, “The attacker sold the three NFTs for a total of 48.5 ETH, equivalent to approximately $145,000.”
Widespread Impact and Ongoing Threats in the Crypto Sector
The crypto industry has faced a series of phishing attacks resulting in substantial losses, as highlighted by Scam Sniffer’s data. In the first two months of 2024 alone, approximately 97,000 users fell prey to sophisticated scams, leading to a collective loss of $104 million in cryptocurrencies. Notably, $46.86 million worth of crypto was stolen in February 2024, with a significant portion coming from the Ethereum ecosystem.
- Cyvers Alerts reported a previous phishing scheme by “PinkDrainer” draining $92,800 worth of Ethereum from a victim’s wallet, indicating a pattern of malicious activities associated with the same entity.
- In 2023, cybercriminals exploited vulnerabilities in reputable platforms like Chainlink to execute fraudulent transactions leading to millions of dollars in losses.
- Scam Sniffer highlighted the use of deceptive tactics on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) to lure individuals to phishing sites, posing an ongoing threat to users’ digital assets.
Crypto News cautioned that phishing campaigns targeting Etherscan users through misleading advertisements have become a prevalent issue in the crypto space.
While efforts to combat these scams are underway, the cumulative losses incurred by users in 2023 and early 2024 have surpassed $300 million, underscoring the pervasive nature and financial impact of crypto phishing attacks.
