What is an NFT? Are NFTs legitimate? Will I be scammed? No matter if you are just a freshman or an NFT expert, you should be alert and suit up with some safety tips to protect yourself from NFT scams!
Link your wallet to NFT trading websites to start placing bids!
There is not a central or official website for NFTs. Creators can decide where to sell them and there are plenty of NFT trading websites to choose from. However, scammers have created fake NFT trading sites that look legitimate to trick you.
There WON’T be real NFTs on scam websites. They might simply be phishing websites, functioning like online forms to record all the credentials you submit (like the recovery phrase for your MetaMask wallet) and use them to gain access to your wallet and transfer all your cryptocurrency away.
Use Trend Micro Check to spot the scams with ease:
1. Send suspicious links to Trend Micro Check on WhatsApp or Messenger for immediate scam detection:
2. Free bulletproof on-the-go protection against scams: it detects and blocks dangerous websites automatically (available on Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Safari)
The best way to avoid NFT scams is to stay on legitimate websites! Most people know OpenSea — the most popular all-in-one NFT trading website. Here’s a list of other legitimate NFT marketplaces:
Besides fake websites, scammers also pose as famous NFT trading sites and send fake email notifications about offers regarding your NFT, luring you into clicking on the embedded button to view details:
They also send fake security alerts via email:
The buttons will take you to a phishing website. The fake page will ask you to link your wallet and submit a recovery phrase. Scammers can record the credentials and hack into your wallet to steal every cent.
Scammers will also get in touch with you, impersonating fake support staff on Discord. For example, when you are seeking technical support, they contact you and claim to be from OpenSea.
Then the scammer may instruct you to share your screen and eventually trick you into exposing the security phrase to your wallet by taking a screenshot of it. Or, he might send you a link to a fake customer service website, where you will be asked to type in credentials. Stay alert!
There are always people falling for fake giveaways. Again, scammers pretend to be from famous NFT trading sites and find you on Discord or Telegram.
They falsely claim they have a giveaway and promise you free NFTs, asking you to help promote their messages and to participate via scam or phishing websites! Their goal is to steal your wallet credentials.
If an offer seems too-good-to-be-true, then it probably is!
New NFT projects pop up and gain popularity, but which ones are legitimate? In a “rug pull” scam, the cryptocurrencies can’t be circulated and owners can’t re-sell the tokens, making its price plummet. In such schemes, the only one who profits are the creators of the digital tokens.
In other cases, such investment scams are committed by romance scammers. Romance catfishers try to lure you into investing in some NFT projects. They might send you links to fake NFT websites, or ask you to wire them money. Be careful!
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Have you fallen for a hoax, bought a fake product? Report the site and warn others!
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