More than $100 million in NFTs were stolen last year, according to a new report by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic.
🚨Over $100 million worth of NFTs were publicly reported as stolen through scams between July 2021 and July 2022, netting perpetrators $300,000 per scam on average.
Head to https://t.co/u6iPLjXgpR to read our NFTs and Financial Crime Report.#nft #crypto #aml— elliptic (@elliptic) August 24, 2022
In addition to stolen NFTs, more than $8 million in illegal coins have been laundered using NFTs since 2017, according to Elliptic. NFTs are unique crypto tokens that are linked to digital and physical content to provide proof of ownership.
Elliptic says cybercriminals collect an average of $300,000 per scam. $24 million in NFTs were stolen through scams in May 2022 alone, with July 2022 being the highest month on record in terms of the number of stolen NFTs at 4,600.
23% of all STOLEN NFTs in 2022 came from compromised social media platforms like Discord and Phishing messages sent to members.
Other attack methods tracked by Elliptic include phishing emails, malicious websites, and (as in the case of the Solana hack, earlier this month), attacks in mobile wallets.
Fake NFTs are also a major concern. In January, OpenSea reported that more than 80% of NFTs minted with the unit’s tools were pirated works, fake collections, and spam.
