Hackers have learned to use NFTs to hack crypto wallets

Over the past year, NFTs have become a multi-billion dollar sector. With the proliferation and increase in cash flow, NFTs are creating quite a lucrative opportunity for scammers.

There are several common NFT scams. Fake or plagiarized NFTs, phishing and suspicious pop-ups, bidding scams, and finally cryptojacking and crypto wallet theft.

According to ESET, NFT tokens have become the leading cause of gray mining malware and crypto wallet theft in the past year. However, it is not possible to derive accurate statistics. Many victims do not even know that their power is being used for mining cryptocurrencies.

If previously such programs were distributed mainly through torrent trackers and sites with adult content, now mobile applications and NFTs are suitable for this. Attackers can sell a token with an already embedded virus, which is activated when it hits the victim’s device, and exploits not only the power, but also vulnerabilities in the mobile wallet.

At the end of last year, such an attack was discovered on the popular NFT marketplace OpenSea. The attacker injected JavaScript code into a subdomain of the site and sent NFTs with an exploit to victims. The Metamask wallet interface displayed the genuine OpenSea domain, and the funds went to the scammer’s address.

Last year, hackers managed to hack the Discord bot of the Fractal server. By sending a phishing link through it, they managed to steal more than $150 thousand. 

The number of such scammers is growing due to low user literacy. Many people fall into fake collections without knowing how to verify the authenticity of NFTs. Russia remains the leader in the number of victims of cryptocurrency fraud. 

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