
A sponsored advertising link on Google hid malware that siphoned thousands of dollars worth of crypto and NFTs from an influencer’s wallet.
An NFT influencer claims to have lost “a life-changing amount” of their net worth in nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and crypto after accidentally downloading malicious software found via a Google Ad search result.
The pseudo-anonymous influencer known on Twitter as “NFT God” posted a series of tweets on Jan. 14 describing how his “entire digital livelihood” came under attack including a compromise of his crypto wallet and multiple online accounts.
Last night my entire digital livelihood was violated.
— NFT God (@NFT_GOD) January 15, 2023
Every account connected to me both personally and professionally was hacked and used to hurt others.
Less importantly, I lost a life changing amount of my net worth
NFT God, known also as “Alex,” said he used Google's search engine to download OBS, an open-source video streaming software. But instead of clicking on the official website, he clicked the sponsored advertisement for what he thought was the same thing.
It wasn’t until hours later — after a series of phishing tweets posted by attackers on two Twitter accounts that Alex operates — that he realized malware was downloaded from the sponsored advertisement alongside the software he wanted.
Following a message from an acquaintance, Alex noticed his crypto wallet was also compromised. The next day, attackers breached his Substack account and sent phishing emails to his 16,000 subscribers.
Then I get the DM I've been dreading. "Dude you WETH'd your ape?"
— NFT God (@NFT_GOD) January 15, 2023
I pop open the Opensea bookmark of my ape and there it is. A completely different wallet listed as the owner.
I knew at that moment it was all gone. Everything. All my crypto and NFTs ripped from me
Blockchain data shows that at least 19 Ether (ETH) worth nearly $27,000 at the time, a Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFT with a current floor price of 16 ETH ($25,000), and multiple other NFTs were siphoned from Alex’s wallet.
The attacker moved most of the ETH through multiple wallets before sending it to the decentralized exchange (DEX) FixedFloat, where it was swapped for unknown cryptocurrencies.
Alex believes the “critical mistake” that allowed the wallet hack was setting up his hardware wallet as a hot wallet by entering its seed phrase “in a way that no longer kept it cold,” or offline, which allowed the hackers to gain control of his crypto and NFTs.
Related: Navigating the World of Crypto: Tips for Avoiding Scams
Unfortunately, NFT God’s experience isn’t the first time the crypto community has dealt with crypto-stealing malware in Google Ads.
A Jan. 12 report from cybersecurity firm Cyble warned of an information-stealing malware called “Rhadamanthys Stealer” spreading through Google Ads on “highly convincing phishing webpage[s].”
In October, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao warned that Google search results were promoting crypto phishing and scamming websites.
Cointelegraph contacted Google for comment but did not receive a response. In its help center, however, Google said it “actively works with trusted advertisers and partners to help prevent malware in ads.”
It also describes its use of “proprietary technology and malware detection tools” to regularly scan Google Ads.
Cointelegraph was unable to replicate the results of Alex’s search nor verify if the malicious website was still active.
They appear to have authorized a malicious Dapp to transfer their tokens, leading the assets to be drained immediately.
NFT Influencer CryptoNovo announced on Jan 4. that they have fallen victim to a cyberattack and lost two cryptopunks. The post on Twitter says “I just got hacked!!! Are you kidding me!?!” and includes a screenshot from OpenSea displaying two cryptopunks being transferred to another address.
I just got hacked!!!
— CryptoNovo (@CryptoNovo311) January 4, 2023
Are you kidding me!?! pic.twitter.com/r1xS0mhD6P
The two cryptopunks were immediately sold by the attacker, one for 70 ETH (worth an equivalent $88,434 at time of publication) and the other for 199 ETH ($251,404). This implies that CryptoNovo lost over $300K worth of cryptopunks in the attack.
The record of cryptopunk#4608 allegedly being transferred to the attacker’s wallet, moved to another wallet, and then sold for 199 ETH. Source: OpenSea
Numerous other NFTs were apparently taken from the influencer, including Meebits, CloneX, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, and Bored Ape Yacht Club items.
CryptoNovo’s iconic green-beanie-wearing punk, #3706, appears to have been saved from the attack, although the owner also appears to have sold the item. While the previously mentioned items went to a known phishing address, the cryptopunk #3706 was sent to a completely different address and sold for 75 ETH ($94,751). This address has also received items from thenovoverse.eth, an ENS domain that has itself received items from CryptoNovo’s official wallet address in the past. These facts may imply that the sale of this particular item was possibly done by the owner rather than an attacker.
Cryptopunk#3706. Source: OpenSea
CryptoNovo is an NFT influencer with over 18,000 Twitter followers . He is known for wearing masks that make him look like the green-beanie-wearing cryptopunk he first purchased in 2020.
Although CryptoNovo claimed the attack was a “hack,” Twitter user @__proper has pointed out that this is more likely to have been caused by phishing. Just after the green beanie cryptopunk was transferred to a safe address, CryptoNovo made several token authorizations to an unknown smart contract. It is this contract that subsequently used the transferFrom function on various NFTs to move them from the influencer’s wallet. This implies that someone may have tricked him into authorizing a malicious Dapp to move his tokens.
Really sorry this happened and I hope you're able to get the pieces back. If it's any help, it looks like you may have a signed a txn granting an allowance to https://t.co/8Lpr10A3sz pic.twitter.com/pNMt5xrN0F
— proper (@__proper) January 4, 2023
Related: Magic Eden NFT service hacked, shows porn instead of correct images
Someone also appears to be impersonating CryptoNovo on Discord. 9 hours after the attack occurred, he posted an image of a Discord account that claims to be him, but which he says is a fake account.
I have not asked anyone for anything. DO NOT send anything to anyone using my name and account number! The discord you see below is a fake account. A couple other CryptoPunks owners have scammers acting as them as well. pic.twitter.com/9YWcTLYAJd
— CryptoNovo (@CryptoNovo311) January 4, 2023
Cryptopunks was one of the first “generative digital art” NFT collections or collections of art objects generated by an algorithm. It was released in June, 2017, and its individual units were given away to anyone who could pay the gas fees to mint them. Today, cryptopunks sell for an average price of over $1,000, according to nftstats.com.
The collection has inspired thousands of other generative NFT collections, including Bored Ape Yacht Club, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Meebits, and others.
An NFT collector borrowed 1,044 ETH against two MAYC NFTs, just to purchase another MAYC NFT for 1,000 ETH, and Sega is set to drop its first blockchain game.
The main cast from the cult-classic film Napoleon Dynamite are reuniting for an animated series which will be released through blockchain technology.
According to a Sept. 27 report from Hollywood news outlet Deadline, the stars from Napoleon Dynamite have all signed on to voice characters in CyKo KO, an animated rendition of Rob Feldman’s comic book bearing the same name, with a 12-minute pilot to launch on Web3 streaming service Rewarded.TV.
Napoleon Dynamite is an indie-comedy from 2004 that developed a cult following across the globe despite being shot in just 22 days and having a limited budget of $400,000. The main cast includes Jon Heder, Tina Majorino, Efren Ramirez and Jon Gries.
Heder, who played Napoleon Dynamite, will take up the role of the main character who also bears the same name as the show. CyKo KO follows the story of a hero and his sidekicks who protect the colonies of “SuperEarth” from enemies and giant monsters. A 12-minute pilot is reportedly in the works at this stage.
As part of the fund raising process from the show, Rewarded.TV will host the sale of CyKo KO NFT card collectible packs on October 1.
The packs start at $59 a pop and were developed in partnership with Theta Labs. Hodler’s of the NFTs will gain access to all season 1 episodes of the series along with other shows and films on Rewarded.TV.
Monthly prizes and a chance to meet the cast of CyKo KO or to cameo in the pilot has also been touted.
The Web3 streaming platform enables users to earn RPLAY tokens and NFT rewards for time spent watching media, while people can also earn from launching their own content.
Japanese gaming giant Sega is set to release its first blockchain game via Oasys’ Layer-2 network called the HOME verse.
According to a Tuesday announcement from Oasys, the game is based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms mythology, which is from Sega’s SANGOKUSHI TAISEN arcade-based card game franchise.
The game itself will be developed and operated by double jump.tokyo and it will consist of a digital collectible card game, most likely with a PVP battle mode attached to it.
While it doesn’t represent a triple-A quality game launch, the move is significant as it shows that Sega is finally ready to dip its toes into the blockchain gaming market.
Speaking to Cointelegraph at the 2022 Tokyo Games Show earlier this month, Oasys representative director Ryo Matsubara emphasized that big gaming companies in Japan such as Bandai Namco, Sega and Square Enix all hold a long term vision for blockchain-based gaming.
“They don’t [want to] change that policy. They really understand the future adoption of blockchain. They’re not thinking about, you know, just the revenue, they want to create the next future [of gaming],” he said.
Related: Anonymous makes numerous allegations against Yuga Labs and its Bored Ape Yacht Club
Brendan Greene, the creator of the highly popular survival shooter game PUBG, has revealed his next game called Artemis will be a Metaverse-focused title that will likely have NFT and blockchain elements.
Greene noted in a Wednesday interview with Hit Points that the game will allow players to create whatever they like in a large open world, and that digital items like NFTs will be incorporated so that users can extract value out of the game via digital goods.
“We’re building a digital place. That has to have an economy, and it has to have systems at work. And I do believe you should be able to extract value from a digital place; it has to be like the internet, where you can do stuff that will earn you money.”
“But it’s not about, like, Chanel and Louis Vuitton. It’s some kid called AwesomePickle selling cool skins because he understands what people want,” he added.
Mega ETH borrow against Mega Mutant Apes
One ballsy NFT collector has utilized NFT lending platform Arcade to borrow 1,044 Ether (ETH) against two of their Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFTs this week.
At the time of writing, 1,044 ETH is worth $1.33 million, and the hodler who goes by @fragmentxyz on Twitter, used the borrowed capital to purchase another rare MAYC NFT for 1,000 ETH.
1000 ETH was borrowed against two mega mutants today on @arcade_xyz! The payback is set to be 1,044 ETH in 90 days (18% APY). Additionally the borrower (@fragmentxyz) has bought a third mega mutant from @machibigbrother pic.twitter.com/0dkWIVOGYo
— 0xTIGΞR (@PltTiger) September 27, 2022
Under the loan repayment terms, @fragmentxyz has an interest rate of 18% APY that needs to be paid down within 90 days. The move marks a novel method to extract liquidity NFTs without selling them (in theory) and suggests that the hodler is betting on there being no major price volatility for MAYC NFTs over the next three months.
Christie’s has launched its own dedicated NFT "on-chain auction platform," allowing auctions to be carried out fully on-chain on the Ethereum network.
The Walt Disney Company could be on the verge of expanding into the crypto space after posting a new job for an “experienced corporate attorney” to work on “emerging technologies” such as NFTs and the Metaverse.