According to the BBC, a virtual fraudster who swindled an art collector out of over £240,000 by enticing him to purchase a non-fungible token (NFT) has returned the money. The unidentified investor stated that he acquired the NFT after being notified about it by a buddy who was not identified in his Discord forum about the transaction.
As soon as he received their tip, he proceeded to the newly created page on the NFT website, which is run by the renowned street artist Banksy. This post contained a link to an auction site where an NFT dubbed “Great Climate Change Redistribution Disaster” could be purchased.
In this particular instance, however, the individual was completely ignorant that the link he had clicked on had been placed on the website by the fraudster.
His very first NFT is currently up for sale, and bidding on it lead him to a website where he was able to purchase it. The user was described as having paid 90 percent more than other bidders to win the token, which was subsequently delivered to the fraudster via the Ethereum cryptocurrency network.
“The security of the site had been breached.” Before placing my bid, I double-checked the URL on both my computer and my mobile. During an interview with the BBC, he stated that “it was hosted on his site.” “When we were granted the bid, my first thought was that it was a forgery.”
Also read:Even though the money had been reimbursed, the con-man had charged a £5,000 transaction fee for their services on the same evening that it had occurred. I had no idea what was about to happen. The victim believed that press coverage of the incident, as well as the fact that he had tracked down the hacker and was following him on Twitter, had prompted the company to provide reimbursement.
“I consider myself lucky since so many other individuals in a comparable situation would not have had the same outcome.”
Even while it is still unclear how the fraudster gained access to Banksy’s website to include the offending link, it appears he employed a SQL injection attack to accomplish his goal. “Banksy has not produced any non-fungible token artworks,” according to a spokesman for the Bristol-based artist.
By maintaining a record of it on a blockchain in the form of NFTs, digital ownership of objects such as art can be established, and then the art may be traded online. In addition, according to Jake Moore, a cybersecurity expert at ESET, the system is a perfect hunting ground for cyber-criminals looking to loot their consumers.
Since it’s no different than any other online transaction, he said, “always make sure you’re buying from a trustworthy source,” but added that if honest websites are hacked, this is no longer a safeguard.
Because the NFT business is still in its infancy, anybody considering investing in NFTs should proceed with care and be cautious of the claims made. Scammers are extremely skilled at persuading people, and because there is no tangible product or service to sell, the makeup of NFTs may be easily altered.
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