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Mutant monkey keeper attempts to deceive the NFT community
A scammer using a Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFT as a pfp is trying to steal from members of the NFT community. Over the weekend, several members of the NFT Twitter community came forward and said that the scammer had approached them via DM. The Twitter profile belonging to the scammer has a Twitter hexagon pfp of a Mutant Ape, which attempts to add legitimacy to NFT scams.
Moreover, the account is also followed by some high-profile BAYC holders, which may suggest to others in the NFT space that it is a real person.
Mutant Ape Scammer uses “fake link” trick
In a tweet this morning, @mazen2k brought the suspicious account into focus. They tweeted, “Scam alert. Scammer @cIaritaaa27 has a verified Twitter hex and is followed by [email protected] Retweet to spread the word.”
Judging by the comments in the thread, this has been going on for a while. The Mutant Ape scammer has spent the last week messaging people offering to sell their Mutant Ape NFTs, among other NFTs. The link they provide is a fake one. The scam relies on offering a deal that is too good to be true, luring people into being wary.
Another user, called @RroottHK_nft, also created a thread today about the Mutant Ape NFT scam. It’s great to see members of the Twitter NFT community raising awareness of scammers.
Why is the Twitter hexagon profile important?
To get a Twitter hexagon NFT pfp, you must own the NFT in question. The Mutant Ape scammer, @cIaritaaa27, uses this hexagonal profile picture to legitimize their NFT sales. People will see the hexagon pfp and automatically be more trusting.
This is a significant problem and people should remember that many NFT scams rely on social engineering. Also, scammers have many ways to try to get information from you without you realizing it.
In the past year we have seen countless NFT fraud where people have given up their details somehow due to social engineering. Even the British Army’s Twitter page was taken over by NFT fraudsters earlier this year. Remember to keep your information safe and follow the latest NFT security protocols.
