BAYC fraud is another another setback for the business

The proprietors of Bored Ape have not had a good year, and the current BAYC fraud is another another setback for the business. A "gasless transaction" scam has defrauded 14 ape NFTs, one of which has already been shut down. The NFTs are worth up to $1 million in total. Continue reading to find out more about this kind of scam and how to avoid it.

What's the Deal With The Most Recent Bored Ape Scam?

Industry developer @CirrusNFT revealed an over 1200 ETH scam on Twitter on December 17. All 14 of NFT collector @ sevenseasontreasured 's Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs were quickly taken. This Bored Ape fraud has a total worth of more than $1 million. The NFT trader believed they were entering into a gas-free transaction when they agreed to a licensing agreement with web3 social IP platform The Unemployed. "Jason Brubeck," an unidentified person, approached @ sevenseason_ and requested that he accept the license agreement. This con came about as a result of two different factors. First, a couple OpenSea contract weaknesses as well as a clever social engineering ruse. Let's find out more about the OpenSea "gasless transaction" hoax.

The first instance of this scam's occurrence was in February 2022, when numerous well-known targets and assets were claimed. It all begins with a phishing link that convinces users to link their wallets to a "reliable" website. The trickiest element of the hoax is at this point, where extensive use of social engineering creates the appearance of confidence. The user is persuaded to sign a gasless transaction on their wallets as part of the second fraud step. Most people make the error of assuming that a lack of gas equates to a lack of transfers, but that is incorrect.

In a Twitter thread detailing gasless scams, Chimpers dev @cap10bad.ETH details that this step actually allows users to transfer NFTs to the scammers’ wallets for 0 ETH! In the thread, he also claims that though Metamask has improved the readability of contracts, it still lacks behind. He further states “To avoid this scam: if the message is from Seaport and includes “OFFERER: YOUR WALLET”, this means you are creating a listing (of your NFT). You may read the full thread here, to learn more about this type of scam.

In February 2022, this kind of swindle makes its debut, claiming numerous high-profile targets and valuables. A phishing link is used to trick people into connecting their wallets to a "reliable" website. Using extensive social engineering to create the appearance of trust, this is also the trickiest component of the hoax. The user is asked to sign a gasless transaction on their wallets as the second step of this deception. The majority of users fall into the trap of assuming that absence of gas equates to absence of transfers, yet this is incorrect.

Furthermore, OpenSea has not taken any action to bridge this gap. especially since con artists and thieves never stop coming up with new ways to take advantage of people. The Blur marketplace, on the other hand, provides insurance by imposing restrictions on how rapidly recently transferred items can receive offers. Additionally, the wallet page where the NFTs "0x9335dA37d37BC5D46850EaEe48F8B9CCbE94D9a2" were stolen is no longer accessible.

As things stand, NFT Twitter is offering @ sevenseasons_ its love and support. Users are also looking for solutions to get their lost BAYC digital collectibles back.