An unfortunate individual has just experienced a devastating loss of $240,000 in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Blur marketplace. This incident, which was reported by the user known as 0xQuit on X (formerly Twitter), involved the disappearance of six Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, 40 Beanz, and three Elementals, all listed for only one wei each. While these prices may appear negligible, the current floor prices for these assets amount to approximately $239,676. Wei represents the smallest unit of ether on the Ethereum blockchain.
The scam itself was executed by an unidentified entity, who took advantage of a vulnerability in Blur’s listing system to facilitate private sales. Despite Blur’s policy of not supporting private listings, the scammer managed to manipulate the royalty settings of the NFTs, thereby bypassing the requirement for public accessibility.
Normally, if a scammer convinces someone to list an NFT for an extremely low price, automated bots swiftly purchase it by offering higher fees, leaving the scammer with nothing. However, scammers have adapted their tactics by tricking individuals into listing NFTs at high prices, with the proceeds directed to the scammer’s address. This is accomplished by configuring a rule that cancels any transaction unless the scammer is the buyer, effectively making the sale private and preventing others from intercepting the low-priced listings.
0xQuit further explained that the scam involved luring the victim to sign something on a phishing website, typically through an impersonation account on Twitter that advertised a free mint or airdrop checker.
NFT-related scams have become an ongoing challenge for marketplaces and users due to the surge in popularity of these assets in late 2020 and early 2021. In some rare cases, authorities have been tasked with apprehending those responsible for pilfering millions of dollars. Just last month, three UK nationals were charged in connection with a $3 million scam linked to the “Evolved Apes” NFT collection.
At the time of this report, Blur has not responded to requests for comment regarding the incident.