Phishing refers to the deceptive practices of employing counterfeit emails, links, and websites with the intention of tricking individuals into divulging their login credentials or engaging in malicious agreements. When it comes to the realm of cryptocurrencies, phishing involves malicious actors masquerading as genuine entities to gain unauthorized access to users’ wallets.
On Saturday, an NFT thief executed an astonishing heist, targeting and successfully stealing the immensely valuable Bored Apes #2330 and #8177. The theft was initially discovered and reported by the astute security researcher PeckShield Alert.
Two Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs have been illicitly obtained by a cyberthief known as Fake_Phishing182232. An analysis of Fake_Phishing182232’s transaction history uncovers a disconcerting truth: numerous Ethereum wallets have been targeted and compromised by the phishing hack.
Soon after their theft, the pilfered NFTs were swiftly sold on the Blur marketplace, generating a total of 70.44 ETH (equivalent to approximately $135,500 USD).
The stolen assets include NFTs from prominent collections such as Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Bored Ape Kennel Club, and Killabears. Similar to the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) instances, the most valuable among these NFTs were promptly resold on the Blur platform.
Indeed, this year has witnessed numerous instances of phishing attacks targeting the cryptocurrency space.
One notable incident occurred in January when hackers infiltrated Robinhood’s Twitter account, exploiting it to promote a fraudulent token. Additionally, in February, Metamask disclosed that its users had fallen victim to phishing emails following a compromise of its email provider. These incidents highlight the ongoing threat posed by phishing attacks within the crypto industry.
Perpetrators have also capitalized on the online presence of individuals through their social media profiles to propagate phishing links.
