Dozens more apes gone! Millions of dollars lost in BAYC scam
On Monday, hacker(s) stole millions of dollars worth of non-fungible tokens (NFT) after a link to an airdrop scam was posted on the official Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) Instagram account and Discord server.
The dodgy link promised to mint free land in the project’s imminent metaverse Otherside. However, the fraudulent URL allowed the people or persons behind the scam to access the marks’ MetaMask wallets.
Once clicked, the link enacted a safetranferFrom function which allowed the scammer to transfer any NFTs stored in the wallet. Cnet notes that the digital assets lost through the fake airdrop included a Clone X NFT worth around $54,000.
Citing data from OpenSea, CoinDesk reported that 24 Bored Apes and 30 Mutant Apes were stolen, worth close to $14 million. However, a statement from Yuga Labs put the figure much lower.
“Rough estimated losses due to the scam are 4 Bored Apes, 6 Mutant Apes, and 3 BAKC (Bored Ape Kennel Club), as well as assorted other NFTs estimated at a total value of ~$3m. We are actively working to establish contact with affected users,” it said.
Independent researcher Zachxbt puts the total figure of stolen NFTs at 91, with the profits from the scam directed to crypto exchanges KuCoin and Binance.
In a tweet, Yuga Labs’ pseudonymous co-founder Gargamel seconded Yuga Labs’ figure and stated that security practices “were tight on Yuga’s end”, and the IG account would no longer be used for important announcements.
The company said it would not be posting anything on the BAYC or Otherside IG profiles until an investigation was complete. It instead directed users to its Twitter profiles. It also said it was working with Instagram to determine how their accounts were compromised.
No freebies in BAYC’s $450M metaverse
This latest BAYC heist comes just days before the project’s associated metaverse launch. Yuga Labs completed a $450 million funding round to create a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) where Bored Ape owners can use their NFTs as playable avatars.
Otherside is set to launch on April 30 and was developed with the help of Animoca Brands, which created the sandbox metaverse.
Read more: All my apes gone: Twitter users revel in $2.2M Bored Ape NFT theft.
While the offer of freebies might sound too good to be true to most people, it’s nothing new for Bored Ape holders. Last month the project completed an airdrop of its ApeCoin where Yuga Labs NFT holders could claim an allocation of the tokens for free depending on their NFT collection.
However, another BAYC airdrop scam promising free ApeCoin in the same month relieved holders of around $160,000 worth of Bored Ape NFTs.
Since launching on April 23 last year at around $200 for a Bored Ape, BAYC has quickly grown to a $4 billion behemoth in the NFT space, with an apes floor price sitting at 99 ETH ($280,000).
Follow us on Twitter for more informed news.
Out now: the first three episodes of our new investigative podcast series Innovated: Blockchain City.