Web3 Builders Lose Dozens Of High-Value NFTs In Back-To-Back Attacks - CoinDesk

Web3 Builders Lose Dozens Of High-Value NFTs In Back-To-Back Attacks – CoinDesk

Consensus 2023 Logo

Join the most important conversation in crypto and Web3 taking place in Austin, Texas, April 26-28.

CoinDesk - Unknown

Eli is a news reporter for CoinDesk. He holds ETH, SOL and AVAX.

Consensus 2023 Logo

Join the most important conversation in crypto and Web3 taking place in Austin, Texas, April 26-28.

Two prominent Web3 builders lost dozens of high-value non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to scammers over the past few days after their crypto wallets were compromised.

The first victim was NFT collector CryptoNovo, who tweeted on Tuesday that he had been hacked.

The attacker appears to have made off with a hefty haul – three CryptoPunks, a Bored Ape, a Mutant Ape, three Meebits and two CloneX NFTs.

Within 16 hours of taking over the wallet, the new owner was able to sell all ten NFTs for a total of 492.66 ETH, worth around $618,000 at the time of writing. The funds were then apparently transferred to an account on crypto exchange ChangeNOW, according to on-chain sleuth ZachXBT.

It appears that an attacker may have also taken over CryptoNovo’s Discord account in an attempt to steal more funds.

“DO NOT send anything to anyone using my name and account number!” CryptoNovo said in a tweet. “The Discord you see below is a fake account.”

Another attacker had targeted Nikhil Gopalani, chief operating officer at RTFKT, an NFT project now owned by Nike. According to Gopalani, his wallet was drained due to a phishing scam.

It appears that two wallets drained Gopalani’s collection, making off with 19 CloneX NFTs, 18 RTKFT Space Pods, 17 Loot Pods, 11 CryptoKicks and 19 RTFKT Animus Eggs. Not all of the NFTs have been sold, and it is difficult to estimate the exact value of each NFT, though the collection is likely worth upwards of $140,000, based on the current floor prices of each collection.

Neither CryptoNovo nor Gopalani immediately responded to CoinDesk’s request for comment.


Sign up for Valid Points, our weekly newsletter breaking down Ethereum’s evolution and its impact on crypto markets.

By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk product updates, events and marketing and you agree to our terms of services and privacy policy.

DISCLOSURE

Please note that our

privacy policy,

terms of use,

cookies,

and

do not sell my personal information

has been updated

.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a

strict set of editorial policies.

CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of

Digital Currency Group,

which invests in

cryptocurrencies

and blockchain

startups.

As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of

stock appreciation rights,

which v