As the crypto and NFT markets are almost completely unregulated, they’re such an attractive prospect for fraudsters, who are always looking to jump on a new phenomenon. With over $100 million stolen in one year, you can see the draw, and consumers must take steps to keep themselves safe, as ultimately, it’s their hard-earned money that’s at stake.
In this case, phishing for credentials has been one of the ways fraudsters have exploited NFT consumers, so it’s also crucial to keep private key and login credentials to yourself, no matter how convincing someone may sound. Also, preparing before any investment is essential, from NFT research to avoiding anything that sounds too good to be true, because usually it is.
Exchanges must also do more to protect consumers from the surging cases of NFT fraud. They’re investing in network security and doubling down on identifying brand impersonation, but they should also be on the lookout for fake adverts as these have been key to this rise of NFT scams. Advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning mean that exchanges can now not only detect fraud, but completely stamp it out before it reaches consumers.