A new wave of NFT scams has taken the world by storm and shockingly it’s young school children who are collecting in millions overnight . These youngsters have mastered unorthodox techniques particularly phishing-based scams which led to an influx of ill-gotten gains . The question remains: what are they doing with their newfound wealth?
Rising Trend of NFT Scammers Targeting Young People
Recent arrests like that of the PlugWalkJoe gang have shed light on the growing influence of bitcoin and NFT scams among young individuals . The numbers of these young NFT scammers continue to rise as reported by The Block . They are tempted into this illicit world encoraged by the prospect of quick riches and the allure of NFT drainers .
Shocking Statistics Revealed by PeckShield on NFT Scams
According to PeckShield the impact of NFT scams is overwhelming . Around $73 million worth of NFTs and tokens have been stolen by these scammers . In a span of just nine months they managed to mine 32,000 wallets and affect around 900 Discord servers . The victims range from notable companies to popular crypto wallets and even well-known personalities .
The Dark Side of Ill-Gotten Gains: How Young Scammers Spend Their Stolen Wealth
A security researcher known as Plum reveals a surprising fact: 95% of these NFT scammers are young people under the age of 18 who are still in high school . Plum has personally interacted with some of these individuals and saw photos and videos of them in their school environments . Scammers primarily target developers by establishing false identities and gaining their trust . Once granted access they sell drainers (sets of codes to be integrated into websites) and promise to share a portion of the revenue with the developers . However this agreement turns into a nightmare for the unsuspecting developers who become trapped in the web of deceit .
PeckShield has identified numerous NFT scammers like Monkey, Venom, BlockDev and more . These young scammers splurge their ill-gotten gains on laptops, phones, shoes and especially Roblox . Roblox allows them to indulge in the coolest gear for their avatars, video games, skins and other extravagant items .
Final Thoughts
As the trend of NFT scams among young individuals continues to rise the impact on victims and the wider community is significant . It is crucial for authorities and online platforms to be watchful in combating these scams and protecting unsuspecting individuals from falling victim to this digital underworld .
