Fraudsters stole $2.27 million worth of NFTs in June: PeckShield

NFTs continue to not only attract more users, but also attract the attention of fraudulent entities. Web3 threat actors have set their sights on digital collectibles, with millions in funds lost to different scams and attacks.

A new report suggests that such thefts in NFT space decreased in June but remain rampant.

NFT Flight: June Edition

Shedding light on the NFT crime landscape for the month, PeckShield’s analysis revealed that fraudsters stole approximately $2.27 million worth of NFTs. Despite this, June was down 23% from the previous month, which saw $2.95 million. This can be attributed to lower floor prices.

The latest figure is also more than 85% below February’s high of $16.2 million.

The blockchain security firm further identified that half of the stolen NFTs were quickly sold in various markets within three hours of the theft. Prominent NFT marketplaces such as Blur became a hotspot where nearly 86% of ill-gotten funds were sold, followed by OpenSea with 13.76%.

Meanwhile, the floor prices of NFT collections, such as Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Otherdeed, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Azuki Elementals, as well as DeGods, have all tanked significantly.

Many whales view market conditions as an opportunity to amass more NFTs at low prices. Lookonchain revealed that a whale going by the nickname “Machi Big Brother” collected 84 NFT Azuki over the past day to become the second-largest holder.

In terms of overall exploits in the digital asset industry, June was class the second highest month this year. Exploiters managed to steal over $92 million through 42 hacks.

NFT Exploits and Scams

Earlier this year, Nikhil Gopalani, the COO of RTFKT, lost $173,000 worth of NFTs from his wallet in an apparent phishing attack. A subsequent investigation pointed out that Gopalani may have accidentally provided confidential information to a hacker posing as an Apple representative.

Phishing, scam schemes, stolen and plagiarized NFTs, market manipulation and rug pulling continue to dominate the NFT space. As previously reported, over $100 million worth of NFTs were stolen throughout 2022.