Discord-based NFT projects, including the famous Bored Ape Yacht Club, were hacked by scammers for another time on the 1st of April, 2022.. Jay Chou, a Taiwanese pop icon, also announced that his Bored Ape was stolen, but it is not sure whether it is related to the hack on Discord.
BAYC, Other NFT Projects, Hacked by Scammers
Early morning on the 1st of April, the Discord platforms of different major NFT projects were hacked as part of a phishing scam. Popular NFT projects like Bored Ape Yacht Club, Shamanz, and Nyoki confirmed the hacks in tweets. Kaiju Kings and Doodles also stated that they were hacked.
The phishing scam worked by tricking Discord members into clicking a link and minting an NFT by sending some ETH. But this was fake. Some links even asked viewers to send an NFT so that they could participate in the airdrop.
Warning their NFT holders, BAYC stated in a tweet, ‘STAY SAFE. Do not mint anything from Discord right now. A webhook in our Discord was briefly compromised. We caught it immediately but please know: we are not doing any April Fools stealth mints/airdrops, etc. Other Discords are also being attacked right now.’
After investigations, two wallets have been tied to the accounts, which are now called Fake_Phishing5519 and Fake_Phishing5520. At least one confirmed NFT has been stolen, a Mutant Ape Yacht Club, and sold by the 5519.
Discord has become the central hub for many NFT projects, even if it was previously a game-focused platform, and this is not the first hacking or phishing attempt on the forum.
ApeCoin Value Drops by 8% Following Breach on Discord
ApeCoin, the governance token which was first airdropped to Bored Ape and Mutant Ape Yacht Club owners on the 16th of March, dropped by 8% in the past 24 hours. It fell roughly from $14 to $12.8. Although the token’s value has been versatile since its launch, from $39.4 down to $1, it finally settled between $14 and $16.
But that was before the breach on Discord, which added more volatility to the ApeCoin token. With reports that a phishing attack had compromised the BAYC Discord channel and especially the fact that a Mutant Ape Yacht Club holder lost their NFT, it’s not surprising that investors were a bit uneasy. This led to the drop in the value of the ApeCoin.
Taiwanese Pop Icon Got His Bored Ape Stolen Following the Breach
Asides from the Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFT that was stolen during the phishing account, it was reported that Jay Chou, Taiwanese pop icon and celebrity, had his Bored Ape stolen on the same day. The pop star announced to his followers on Instagram that his Bored Ape image, one of the most popular NFTs globally, had been stolen.
In Chinese, he wrote that he thought it was an April Fools joke when his friend initially called him to inform him. But upon checking, he realized that it was gone and told his followers to stay safe.
Jay Chou’s stolen NFT is the BAYC #3738, and it is a Bored Ape with pink fur, a wide grin, angry eyes, and wearing a stunt jacket. OpenSea, one of the top auction houses for NFTs, has records showing the NFT being transferred away from the pop star’s account around 3 a.m. on the 1st of April, New York time.
It was quickly traded on LooksRare, another platform for NFTs, for 155 ETH. This is approximately $500,000. Due to this suspicious activity, OpenSea has temporarily disabled transactions of the NFTs and marked Jay Chou’s account as compromised.
As this happened on the same day as the phishing scam, it is unclear whether this theft is related. But regardless, it shows an increase in the number of NFT scams and frauds ever since the digital item became popular. As the market is largely unregulated, it’s a bit easier for thefts to succeed when there is weak security.
In December 2021, there was a massive theft of 15 BAYC tokens. There was also the disappearance of Evil Ape, a mysterious NFT developer who is reported to have stolen $2.7 million in NFT from investors.
