beincrypto.com
A popular NFT influencer on Twitter, “NFT God,” saw his entire digital livelihood violated because he clicked on a phishing ad link on Google. The influencer said he lost a life-changing amount of his net worth to the hackers.
His problems started when he downloaded open broadcaster software (OBS) to his desktop computer via a sponsored link on Google. Unknown to him, he had downloaded phishing malware instead.
OBS is an industry-standard video streaming software that would have allowed him to stream directly from his computer. NFT God said he wanted to live stream some video games to his followers.
How NFT God Was Phished
NFT God did not initially realize he had been phished until he got a message that his other Twitter account, “1BetterbyNFTGod,” had been hacked. The malicious player had sent out scam tweets via his account. However, he deleted those tweets two minutes after they went live.
His situation soon worsened as he realized that the owner’s address of his Bored Ape NFT was changed on OpenSea. According to him, it was at that moment he realized that all his crypto and NFTs had been taken from him. NFT God did not reveal the USD value of his assets.
The hackers did not stop there; they also proceeded to send two emails from his Substack to his over 16,000 followers with hacked links. NFT God described the Substack as one of his most prized possessions. He said:
“I’d lose this ugly snot nosed monkey PFP and all my Ethereum 100 times over if it meant I kept the trust and love of those who support me. I honestly was able to keep my cool through losing all my digital assets. I lost my cool when I saw my community was compromised.”
Meanwhile, the phishing victim said he had improved his security and communicated the incident with his community. However, he criticized Google’s open promotion of such “powerful malware.”
It was unclear if any of his community members fell victim to the compromise. NFT God did not respond to BeinCrypto’s request for comment as of press time.
Crypto and Phishing Attacks
One of the most common ways malicious players attack the crypto industry is through phishing attacks.
A North Korean hacker group stole over 1,000 NFTs and gained approximately 300 ETH through a large-scale phishing campaign. More recently, a Bitcoin core developer Luke Dashjr lost around 200 BTC to a PGP compromise.
A recent report said the web3 space saw 167 attacks in 2022. This led to a total loss of roughly $3.6 billion from all types of attacks, an increase of 47.4% from 2021.