The growth of NFTs is something to watch. Many people are willing to pay millions of dollars for digital art, the world is going digital.The report shows that the NFT market and NFT collections will increase from $106 million in 2020 to $44.2 billion in 2021。

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NFT theft

In 2021, one of the most popular buzzwords in the Crypto ecosystem is NFT, and many news headlines describe the story of NFT artists and investors making big money.

NFTs, or digital collections of art, sports and other blockchain-linked valuables, are gaining traction as Wall Street and Hollywood investors join in.

NFTs become a way for entertainment, film and sports celebrities to connect with fans through digital assets in addition to monetary rewards. In India, when celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan entered the NFT space, their support drove the popularity of digital assets.

However, as the hype increased, crime increased.

Investment fraud involving stocks, bonds, and hidden investments accounted for $285 million of all social media scams in 2021, according to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

According to a report released earlier this month by blockchain research firm Chainalysis, knock-on transactions and money laundering are two NFT-related crimes that exist in the Ethereum NFT ecosystem.

Last year, the popularity of the NFT market soared.Chainalysis Tracks $44.2 Billion in NFT-Related Smart Contract Transactions。

Crypto crimes, such as ransom attacks and scams, are growing in tandem with the crypto market. In 2021, criminals increasingly turned to new areas, including DeFi and NFT, when Crypto crime reached an unprecedented peak of $14 billion.

According to Chainalysis analysis, in the third quarter of 2021, the value of transactions through illegal addresses in the NFT market has increased sharply, exceeding $1 million.secondary title。

more money, more theft

In principle, blockchain technology is designed to make it easier for digital artists to sell unique tokens of ownership, providing customers with a permanent record of ownership.

Artists not involved, on the other hand, see the Crypto explosion of the past year as a nightmare. One of the problems is that anyone can "mint" a digital file into an NFT, regardless of whether they have rights to the file, and the process is anonymous by default.

DeviantArt, an online community of digital artists, began monitoring the blockchain last fall for user artwork after NFTs of stolen works by beloved artist Qin Han, who died in 2020 after speaking out about her battle with cancer, were found for sale on OpenSea. a copy of.

Since then, DeviantArt has sent 90,000 fraud notifications to thousands of users.Four million new NFTs are now detected as fraudulent every week. The number of alerts more than doubled from October to November and increased by 300% from November to mid-December。

Texas-based artist Aja Trier found 87,000 NFTs, many of which were priced at $9.88, after discovering photos of her works for sale on an online auction platform.

In one night, 500 entries of her stolen work were posted, showing that the crime was automated and carried out by robots.

Just this Saturday, hundreds of NFTs from OpenSea users were stolen, causing panic among users.

During the attack, 254 tokens were taken, according to a sheet created by blockchain security firm PeckShieldsecondary title

Why do so many thefts happen?

First, NFTs are purchased on the marketplace using Crypto. Crypto is sometimes used for harmful purposes, such as hiding the source of criminal proceeds, and while transactions are traceable, more sophisticated criminals use a variety of tactics to thwart law enforcement investigations.

Aside from the risks associated with using Crypto, money launderers can also profit from NFT transactions and sales, just as they profit from the sale of actual art.

The digital nature of these tokens also opens the door to new risks. During the minting process, the creator can "hide" information in the NFT。

way forward

way forward

The danger of counterfeiting and theft of NFTs can be reduced. Consumers should be able to use two-factor authentication, and cybersecurity measures should be in place to guard against opportunistic hackers.Aside from the importance of good cybersecurity, there is much to learn from how the traditional art market is governed。

A registry of stolen or fraudulently obtained NFTs could also be established. This is similar to an art loss registry, which lists stolen art and restricts its resale to reputable auction houses in the real world. Some of the largest online auction houses for NFTs already have models built into their platforms for use by verified creators.

The original text comes from bitcoinist, compiled and organized by Blockchain Knight, the English copyright belongs to the original author, please contact the compiler for Chinese reprint.

The original text comes from bitcoinist, compiled and organized by Blockchain Knight, the English copyright belongs to the original author, please contact the compiler for Chinese reprint.