As an analyst with years of experience in the digital art world, this story serves as a grim reminder of the dark side that can lurk within the seemingly bright and innovative realm of NFTs. The exploitation of an 85-year-old artist, who has dedicated his life to creating beautiful pieces, is not only heartbreaking but also enraging.
The District Attorney of Brooklyn announced that they have closed down around 40 fake NFT marketplace platforms following a fraud case where a 85-year-old artist lost approximately $135,000 to a swindler in the NFT space.
On December 6th, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office stated that the victim was reached on LinkedIn by an individual pretending to be an art dealer. This person persuaded him to create a replica of his artwork as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) on a sham marketplace mimicking New York-based OpenSea, allegedly.
Initially, he earned a profit of $300,000, however, to retrieve this amount, he was required to pay a fee of $135,000. This money came from selling off his retirement savings, making credit card payments, and securing a loan.
It wasn’t long before he understood that the promised $300,000 wouldn’t materialize, which left him in a state of deep emotional and financial distress, as stated by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.
District Attorney Eric Gonzalez stated that the methods employed in this case guided their investigators towards a system of deceptive websites, which were designed to swindle artists specifically.
“It is my hope that by shutting these domains and raising awareness about this scheme, we will prevent others from falling victim to this scam.”
Additionally, two other artists based in Georgia and California were unfortunately ensnared by the same NFT fraudulent scheme as his office.
The District Attorney’s Digital Currency Team found that the funds were transferred into accounts at a Nigerian cryptocurrency exchange, where they were mainly converted into Nigerian currency. This conversion made it difficult to recover the assets.
The site in question added a counterfeit OpenSea platform, and it seemed to be managed and funded from Nigeria. Additionally, some of the closed sites encouraged visitors to enter their cryptocurrency wallet’s recovery phrase, a move that would grant scammers unrestricted access to empty users’ digital wallets.
To ensure safety when selling your work, it’s crucial to stick with recognized NFT marketplaces. Always stay vigilant against potential fraud through phishing emails or websites mimicking reputable NFT marketplaces.
It also told artists never to reveal their crypto wallet seed phrase.
“If something appears overly beneficial, it might not be genuine. Conduct your own investigation and consult other artists for their perspectives.
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2024-12-09 04:21