Scammers Launch Phishing Attacks Immediately After BAYC Launches ApeCoin Token
Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) released its ApeCoin token on March 17.
Soon after its launch, scammers set up phishing sites impersonating BAYC.
Quick take:
- BAYC, in a recent announcement, released its ApeCoin token.
- It also announced an airdrop for its NFT holders (Bored Apes and Mutant Apes, as well as #BAKC dogs paired with either #BAYC or #MAYC)
- Shortly after the release, scammers set up phishing sites and bought verified Twitter accounts to begin their attack.
The BAYC community woke up to good news on March 17. It released the ApeCoin token, which claims to be a token for culture, gaming, and commerce used to empower a decentralized community building at the forefront of web3.
The release of the token created volatile price swings for NFT holders. Prices hit an all-time high of $39.40 to only plummet to a low of $6.22.
Some cashed on the launch, while many lost a considerable amount of their investment. But APE gradually stabilized and is trading at $14.93 at the time of writing.
Scammers tried to cash in shortly after the launch
Shortly after the release of the ApeCoin token, they began their attack.
The scam activity was brought to light by a crypto sleuth named zachxbt. He tweeted about how the scammers were carrying out the attack.
Initially, they created a phishing website to impersonate the BAYC claim website. The website was meant for NFT holders to claim their free APE tokens.
The scammers then bought hacked verified accounts and tagged people in the replies.
People who connected their wallet, believing it to be the APE token claim site, were immediately drained of their NFTs and ETH. In total, the scammers made around $73.5k or 26.1 ETH.
The scammer listed the stolen NFTs, most notably the Azuki, for sale.
The scammers usually carry out these attacks by purchasing verified Twitter accounts usually sold on forums. They then promote the scam, get banned in 24 hours, and repeat the same with other accounts.
To ensure that you are not the next victim, make sure the website you are visiting and connecting your wallet is legit. If in a dilemma, make sure to use tools like Revoke to double-check.
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