FBI Warns of Criminals Posing as NFT Developers to Target Internet Users

blockchain.news:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a warning about criminal actors posing as legitimate Non-Fungible Token (NFT) developers to defraud active users within the NFT community.

According to the public service announcement released on August 4, 2023, these criminals either gain direct access to NFT developer social media accounts or create almost identical accounts to promote fraudulent NFT releases.

The criminals' posts often create a sense of urgency, using phrases like «limited supply,» and refer to the promotion as a «surprise» or previously unannounced mint. The links provided in these announcements are phishing links that direct victims to spoofed websites, appearing to be legitimate extensions of particular NFT projects.

Once on the spoofed websites, victims are invited to connect their cryptocurrency wallets and purchase the NFT. Unknowingly, they connect their wallets to a «drainer smart contract,» resulting in the transfer of cryptocurrency and NFTs to wallets operated by criminals. The stolen contents are often processed through a series of cryptocurrency mixers and exchanges to hide the path and final destination of the stolen NFTs. 

This warning comes at a time when it is not uncommon to hear of scams and phishing incidents related to NFTs, reflecting a broader trend of fraudulent activities in the space.

Cybersecurity analyst Serpent revealed various crypto and NFT scams active on Twitter on August 3, 2023. These include the Crypto Recovery Scam, where scammers claim to be blockchain developers and trick victims of recent large-scale hacks into paying a fee to recover stolen funds. Other strategies include the Fake Revoke.Cash Scam, using Unicode Letters to create phishing URLs, and