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NEWS Crypto Weekly
Chinese Student Lost $548,000 After Clicking a Scam Link
N
iq Chen, a senior at Shanghai's Tongji University, lost an NFT worth about $548,000 after falling for a phishing scam. The South China Morning Post reports Chen bought non-fungible tokens (NFT) and lost about half of his assets in a phishing scam. NFT #6914, "Gold Ape," was purchased by Pranksy, one of the world's most prolific NFT collectors, for an estimated $1.1 million, according to Coin Rivet. Malicious email links can steal personal data and passwords when clicked on in phishing scams. Chen, who fell victim to a phishing scam by clicking on a link that stole his NFT, requested that it not be bought or sold; however, the NFT had already been sold by the scammer, who claims that no wrongdoing occurred.
March 2022 | Volume 17
The buyer refused to accept Chen's offer to buy the NFT back, saying it was a "good deal," says the Morning Post. When Chen put "NFT" on a university survey, the NFT community in China became well known. Even though he lost a large amount of money through his NFT dealing, the student still wishes to pursue the profession. Recently, OpenSea, the marketplace where the student bought the NFT, reported another incident in which 17 people fell for a phishing attack that stole about $1.7 million in NFTs. Collectively, the website's contract system was updated during the attack. Users have reported security issues involving phishing attacks due to the
simple interface of the marketplace. The Verge reports that OpenSea has denied responsibility for the attacks and that they are unclear as to how they were carried out. Many NFT buyers have also experienced rug pulls, in which a team abandons a project with the investor's money. Users are urged to tread carefully following recent phishing attacks targeting NFTs and cryptocurrency since they have little chance of recovering their assets.
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