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In Latest OpenSea Exploit, Hackers Target NFT Owners on Discord

Work from Home Secrets

  • OpenSea’s marketplace was not directly affected
  • The scam website was not very sophisticated and losses appear to be minimal

The OpenSea Discord server was compromised by scammers early Friday, according to chat records. 

Fake announcements about a partnership with YouTube directed OpenSea community members to a phishing website as scammers sought to trick NFT connoisseurs into minting a new NFT (non-fungible token) series that doesn’t actually exist. Instead, transactions on the suspect site authorized the transfer of NFTs from users’ wallets.

OpenSea confirmed the reports via their official Twitter support account.

The scam messages pointed users to a suspicious website, YouTubeNFT.art, which according to domain records, was registered today with discount domain registrar NameCheap.

Members of the OpenSea Discord community quickly sounded the alarm, and moderators removed the offending announcement channel, as well as a compromised chatbot — but not before some users were taken by the scam.

An apparent vulnerability in the server’s webhooks connection was to blame, according to community members, who also identified the wallet address receiving stolen NFTs. About $20,000 worth of NFTs were transferred to the wallet as of 10:00 am ET, indicating the damage was limited.

OpenSea said fewer than 10 community members were affected.

Other recent attempts to steal NFTs from unsuspecting users have been more successful, including one last month which targeted Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT holders and managed to nab $10 million worth of the tokens.


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  • Macauley Peterson

    Macauley was an editor and content creator in the professional chess world for 14 years, prior to joining Blockworks. At Bucerius Law School (Master in Law and Business, 2020) he researched stablecoins, decentralized finance and central bank digital currencies. He also holds an MA in Film Studies; film credits include Associate Producer of the 2016 Netflix feature documentary, “Magnus” about World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen. He is based in Germany.

    Contact Macauley via email at [email protected]

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