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Data show that bad actors stole roughly $3.23 million worth of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in April, a 68% decrease from the $10.9 million worth of stolen digital collectibles sold last month.
While blockchain-based digital collectibles or NFTs have grown in popularity in recent years, the industry has also become a prime target for bad actors due to the often exorbitant prices of these crypto assets.
#PeckShieldAlert In Apr. 2023, ~$3.23M worth of #NFTs were stolen, representing a 68% decrease from the previous month.
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) May 1, 2023
Half of the stolen NFTs were quickly sold on marketplaces within 2 hours.
Around 70% of the stolen NFTs were first sold on @blur_io, followed by @opensea… pic.twitter.com/RCmktf1eu9
According to the blockchain analytics platform, PeckShieldAlert, roughly $3.23 million worth of NFTs were stolen by bad actors last month. While that amount may sound alarming, it represents a 68% decrease from the $10.9 million worth of NFTs stolen in March 2023. The highest amount ($16.2m) of NFTs was stolen in February.
Regarding NFT marketplaces, Blur is the preferred platform for NFT thieves. About 70% of the stolen digital collectibles were sold on Blur, followed by OpenSea (27.94%).
Hacks and NFT phishing scams on the rise
Bad actors often use various methods to steal the digital collectibles of innocent NFT holders, including phishing attacks and hacking.
Last January, hackers hijacked the Twitter account of the Azuki project, stealing more than $750k worth of NFTs. In February, the Bored Ape NFT worth 89.9 ETH (about $147,800) was stolen via a phishing attack.