A targeted phishing scam has stolen millions of crypto and NFTs from a hacked Beeple account, using links that appeared on the company’s Twitter feed. The scammers managed to score 36 Ethereum (ETH) worth $73,000, as well as more than $400K in NFTs, which they then sold and placed into a crypto mixer. The scammers also made off with Winkelmann’s luxury NFTs for Louis Vuitton.
Beeple phishing scam costing millions in crypto and NFTs
In a tweet aimed at luring readers to buy NFTs and ETH from fake Beeple collections, the fraudster used the Twitter support of the company to capture the user’s attention. The phishing link was up for five hours and netted the scammers around $360,000. In addition to the ETH, the scammer also received multiple NFTs from high-value collections.
Scammers took an initial $50K from victims, and a further $73K in subsequent phases. They continued to post ‘winners’ in an effort to lure victims. These users were duped by the scammers, and many famous individuals were among those affected by the scam. In addition to the millions of dollars lost in crypto, the scam victims included several celebrities and high-profile individuals.
Beanstalk phishing scam costing millions in crypto and NFTs
A recent phishing scam has seen a major decentralized finance company lose $182 million in crypto and NFTs. The attacker spoofed the Ethereum decentralized finance protocol and traded in DAI, USDC, and USDT for a flash loan. The attacker then siphoned off a Tornado Cash mixer and hid the transaction history. As a result, the company is still not fully recovered.
The phishing attack was able to obtain $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency assets and 67 per cent of a project’s vote. They made off with $80 million in crypto and NFTs, largely through exchange platform fees. The attack used two nefarious ideas of governance: “flash loans” and “flash ICOs”. As these ICOs are based on blockchain technology, they are vulnerable to attacks.
Winkelmann’s luxury NFTs for Louis Vuitton
Last Sunday, a phishing scam targeting fans of non-fungible token artist Mike Winkelmann was released on the internet. Using a fake Twitter account, the phishers claimed to be Winkelmann and shared the link to his Louis Vuitton NFT raffle. The phishing attempt managed to drain hundreds of Ether from victims’ Ether wallets. Fortunately, Winkelmann was not harmed by this scheme and the only victims were those who bought his unauthorized NFTs.
In the end, three of the top ten most expensive NFTs have been sold with stolen ETH. The price of one of these NFTs has risen significantly since the theft. Last year, the artist sold the hacked NFT for $69 million. In addition to the luxury NFTs, the hacker also stole other high-value collections, including a pair of Michael Kors handbags.
Beeple hacked to promote phishing link
A Twitter account of NFT artist Beeple has been hacked and used to promote a phishing website. Although the phishing link looked like a raffle for a Louis Vuitton NFT collaboration, it was in reality a phishing website that aimed to steal Ethereum from users’ wallets. Beeple was hacked to promote phishing links, which appeared as fake raffles, promising free mints to participants of the ‘Lucas Vuitton NFT collaboration’. Beeple was hacked, but regained control of its account after a few hours.
In one of the latest hacks, a phishing link was posted on Beeple’s Twitter account, which drained 36 ETH from user wallets – about $73,000 – in five hours. In addition, the phishing link triggered other phishing scams involving the use of Twitter accounts. In one case, a user was prompted to send ETH to an ‘EOA’ to receive their free TAUT.
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