The FBI has published a PSA alerting consumers against non-fungible token (NFT) scams in which fraudsters pretend to be the creators of well-known projects.
It was noted that the criminals hijack the accounts of NFT developers and undergo digital theft activities by draining the victim’s wallet. Also, an alert number is been activated by the FBI as a safety measure. Alongside, questions can be raised to FBI Field Office with regards to PSA, said the agency.
FBI Alerts on NFT Scam
Criminals come up with new possible ways to cheat NFT users through social media. One among such is hijacking the profiles and draining the user’s wallet. The criminals impersonate the social profiles and provide new collections of fake NFTs with keyphrases like ‘limited supply’, ‘surprise’, or any unannounced mints.
FBI seeks the urgency to intimate users as these operations are likely happening in and around. Making it clear, the FBI states in PSA that the victims are redirected to spoofed websites so that the criminal profile might look familiar and legitimate to buy the NFT with cryptocurrency transfers. In this way, the victims drain their wallets.
In addition, the PSA read:
“Contents stolen from victims’ wallets are often processed through a series of cryptocurrency mixers and exchanges to obfuscate the path and final destination of the stolen NFTs.”
Tips to Protect NFT Users
Furthermore, this announcement adds certain tips to protect the accounts of NFT users from illegal theft. FBI indicates that any type of surprise NFT offers are termed suspicious so the background study of past announcements and mints is necessary to be checked before purchasing. Verifying the legitimate accounts of the particular NFT developer is important including their identification in the profile.
If any account is found to be suspicious or fraudulent then referring or raising a complaint to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Centre, is appreciable. Also, it would be better to mention ‘NFTHack’ in the complaint including their scam activities, says the FBI.