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French OCLCTIC cybercrime authorities have arrested a group of five NFT scammers for stealing $2.5 million worth of NFTs via phishing with the help of on-chain detective ZachXBT. according to In a press release dated October 12th by BFM crypto related to Paris l’AFP.
ZachXBT launched an investigation when owners of limited edition Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs complained online about their missing Ape and posted the findings online.
Those who have come forward about NFT fraud allegations include soccer player Neymar, rapper Eminem and TV personality Paris Hilton.
ZachXBT Summary
ZachXBT discovered a phishing scam by an NFT scam group that ran in late 2021/early 2022. The scammer managed to lure the victim’s girlfriend’s Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and his Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFTs to his website and steal them. They built a service masquerading as a service that animates the static artwork of NFTs.
The unwitting owner who provided his credentials to the website ended up transferring ownership of the NFT to the crooks.
Twitter user Dilly Dilly was phished over his BAYC #237 NFT on December 13, 2021. He approved a transaction via his website that he believed would create an animated version of his NFT artwork.
His NFT was stolen from his wallet and then ended up in the hands of scammers. The scammer then sold his NFT on his OpenSea for 47 ETH or $176,000. according to investigation and Tweet By Dilly Dilly.
Four more victims lost their good NFTs in a similar manner, at the time the loss amounted to $1.7 million.
ZachXBT has identified the mathys.eth address as the wallet address used by scammers to carry out NFT thefts and transfer stolen funds. The funds from the victim’s sale of her NFTs were credited to mathys. Create an eth address and mix it with Tornado Cash.
The crooks “discreetly” withdrew 10 Ether at intervals during the theft, but were “not careful to cover their tracks” when withdrawing from the Tornado.
The five NFT scammers now face prosecutions including fraud committed as part of a criminal gang, fraud cover-up, and criminal coalition.
