NFT Scam Unmasked: Artist's Life Savings Stolen in Fake OpenSea Platform

The Brooklyn District Attorney's office has taken significant action against fraudulent non-fungible token (NFT) operations, following the case of an 85-year-old artist who was defrauded out of his life savings. The artist, seeking to enter the thriving NFT market, fell victim to a scam platform that mimicked OpenSea, one of the world's leading marketplaces.

The scammers convinced the artist to mint his work on their platform, promising revenues exceeding $300,000. They then demanded a fee of $135,000 to facilitate the transaction. In a desperate attempt to secure the deal, the artist withdrew funds from his retirement accounts, maxed out his credit cards, and borrowed additional money to cover the fee.

Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez revealed that this was not an isolated incident. During the investigation, detectives discovered 40 fake websites impersonating artists and employing the same scam. The hackers gained access to victims' digital assets and stole money, which was then traced to Nigeria. The criminals exchanged the stolen funds for Naira, making recovery nearly impossible.

The DA's office identified two other victims, artists from Georgia and California, who had also fallen prey to the scam. In response, the office shut down the phishing sites and issued a warning to NFT artists to avoid illegitimate platforms and refrain from sharing their cryptocurrency wallet seed phrases to prevent further compromise of their assets.