{"id":17529,"date":"2022-05-24T17:54:15","date_gmt":"2022-05-24T12:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/?p=15131"},"modified":"2022-08-23T09:48:31","modified_gmt":"2022-08-23T09:48:31","slug":"losses-from-nft-crimes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/blog\/losses-from-nft-crimes","title":{"rendered":"Losses from NFT Crimes up 667% in 2022 Compared to Whole of 2021: Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_66_1 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/blog\/losses-from-nft-crimes\/#What_are_NFTs\" title=\"What are NFTs?\">What are NFTs?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/blog\/losses-from-nft-crimes\/#The_Rise_of_NFTs\" title=\"The Rise of NFTs\">The Rise of NFTs<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/blog\/losses-from-nft-crimes\/#Innovative_Ways_of_Executing_NFT_Crimes\" title=\"Innovative Ways of Executing NFT Crimes\">Innovative Ways of Executing NFT Crimes<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/blog\/losses-from-nft-crimes\/#Staggering_Losses_from_NFT_Crimes_Grim_statistics\" title=\"Staggering Losses from NFT Crimes: Grim statistics\">Staggering Losses from NFT Crimes: Grim statistics<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/blog\/losses-from-nft-crimes\/#Conclusion\" title=\"Conclusion\">Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-are-nfts\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_NFTs\"><\/span><strong>What are NFTs?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike crypto coins, namely, Binance, Bitcoin, Ether, Polkadot, Solano, etc., non-fungible tokens (<a href=\"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/blog\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-nfts\/\">NFT<\/a>) are unique in nature. While every crypto coin of Binance or Bitcoin or Ether is identical in nature and has a limited or unlimited supply, every NFT is rare. It\u2019s possible to buy or sell crypto coins in fractions of a unit up to 8 decimal places. However, NFTs can\u2019t be divided into fractions, and it\u2019s issued in a single unit or multiples of one unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NFTs could be issued to create digital versions of artwork, collectables, and games. To understand NFTs better, let\u2019s compare them with train tickets \u2013 where, prima-facie, all tickets appear identical, yet the names of passengers, seat numbers, and destinations differ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-rise-of-nfts\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Rise_of_NFTs\"><\/span><strong>The Rise of NFTs<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While the concept of NFTs was introduced way back in 2014, their popularity exploded in 2021. Last year, several sports clubs came forward to launch NFTs for renowned players and athletes. Renowned film personalities launched their own NFTs. Fashion houses, large corporates, music houses, and film directors quickly followed with their own NFT launches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Read About: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/blog\/how-to-value-an-nft\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Methods to Assess the Worth and Value of NFTs<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The demand for NFTs outpaced the supply, resulting in soaring NFT prices in a short time. This phenomenon attracted financial speculators into the NFT market, flush with crypto holdings. The rising popularity of NFTs brought numerous hackers into the ecosystem. According to a report released by Top10VPN &#8211; a global digital privacy and research group &#8211; cybercriminals regularly make millions of dollars in cryptoassets, NFTs included. The question, therefore, arises \u2013 how to mitigate the risk of exponentially rising NFT crimes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-innovative-ways-of-executing-nft-crimes\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Innovative_Ways_of_Executing_NFT_Crimes\"><\/span><strong>Innovative Ways of Executing NFT Crimes<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The NFT surge has shifted the attention of cybercriminals to newer areas of decentralised finance (DeFi) and NFTs. With the soaring prices in the NFT market, crypto-enabled crime has reached an all-time high of US$ 14 billion. Buying and holding NFTs is possible in a digital wallet, which could be hot (active) or cold (passive) in nature. So, let\u2019s now understand the various ways in which NFT crimes are committed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>&nbsp;In the NFT regime, fraudsters or scamsters have found innovative ways to victimise NFT holders and make them compromise the private credentials of their digital wallet or even sign authority via a fake NFT minting link. Some even hack into the servers of NFT issuers, NFT marketplaces (like OpenSea), social media platforms (like Discord) or crypto-wallet applications (like MetaMask) and send an email or message containing a phishing link.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>&nbsp;The explosion of counterfeit NFTs has resulted in the work of numerous artists\u2019 being stolen and minted as NFTs for sale without their consent or knowledge. Worse still, they have not received any income or royalty from the sale either.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Wash Trading<\/strong>: In NFT trades, anyone could hold any number of digital wallets. This has resulted in inflated NFT prices wherein sellers artificially jack up the prices by becoming buyers on the other side of the trade. According to Chainalysis &#8211; the blockchain analysis company &#8211; such trades are termed wash trading.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Self laundering<\/strong>: The NFT trades could be used for self-laundering. Criminals indulge in the sale and repurchase of NFTs within themselves using tainted funds. This enables them to fabricate authentic records on the blockchain. Gullible investors then buy the washed NFTs from the criminals with white money.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Rug Pull:<\/strong> Rug pull is a cybercrime whereby developers abandon the project and run off with investors\u2019 funds after making lucrative promises to lure investors.<\/li><li><strong>Cryptojacking:\u00a0 <\/strong>Cryptojacking relates to the unauthorised use of victims\u2019 devices for mining cryptoassets. A research report by Top10VPN says Cryptojacking is the fastest rising form of malware in 2022. Cryptojacking incidents rose to US$ 15.02 million per month in 2022 compared to US$ 8.09 million per month in 2021, a rise of 86%. SonicWall &#8211; a firewall vendor &#8211; carried out an analysis of the threat intelligence data. The analysis reflects Cryptojacking growth outpacing the general trend for malware, which has risen by just 16% in 2022.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Read About: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/blog\/5-ways-to-protect-your-nfts-from-being-stolen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>5 ways to protect your NFTs from being stolen<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-staggering-losses-from-nft-crimes-grim-statistics\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Staggering_Losses_from_NFT_Crimes_Grim_statistics\"><\/span><strong>Staggering Losses from NFT Crimes: Grim statistics<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The NFT crime losses topped US$ 52 million till April 2022 compared with US$ 7 million, a jump of 667% over the whole of 2021 \u2013 according to a report released by\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-conclusion\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With the NFT traded funds catapulting 200 times and profits from the NFT trades surging 450 times in 2021, scamsters and fraudsters have made a beeline to the lucrative NFT market. NFT investors need to exercise caution or mitigate the crime risk by going through the ways of committing NFT crimes mentioned above and avoiding falling prey to such lucrative offers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>ZebPay<\/strong><\/a> is one of the oldest crypto exchanges and you can securely open your digital wallet with India\u2019s fastest-growing and most popular crypto<strong> <\/strong>exchange resulting in a seamless trading experience. Invest with ZebPay today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are NFTs? Unlike crypto coins, namely, Binance, Bitcoin, Ether, Polkadot, Solano, etc., non-fungible tokens (NFT) are unique in nature. While every crypto coin of Binance or Bitcoin or Ether is identical in nature and has a limited or unlimited supply, every NFT is rare. It\u2019s possible to buy or sell crypto coins in fractions [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17424,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crypto"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17529"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18887,"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17529\/revisions\/18887"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zebpay.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}