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Crypto Scam Alert: Fraudsters Impersonate Forbes Journalists In Plot To Rob BAYC Holders

In the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) sector, scammers are constantly devising new methods to exploit unsuspecting collectors. The latest incident involves fraudsters posing as journalists from Forbes magazine, specifically targeting Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT holders. 

One BAYC owner, “Crumz,” recently shared his encounter with these scammers, detailing the elaborate scheme designed to steal his digital assets.

BAYC Collector’s Close Encounter With Scammers

According to Crumz, the scam began when he received a direct message on X (formerly Twitter) from someone claiming to be a Forbes editor named Robert Lafranco. 

Intrigued by the prospect of being featured in an article about BAYC, Crumz proceeded cautiously, conducting a cursory online search that seemingly confirmed the person’s identity. Unbeknownst to him, the scammers had meticulously crafted a “facade of credibility.”

The supposed Forbes journalist informed Crumz of their interest in gathering firsthand accounts from BAYC owners regarding their experiences within the club. Despite initial surprise at being approached, Crumz agreed to participate in a scheduled Zoom call. 

Crumz further stated that the scammers failed to show up for the initial call, citing a fabricated family emergency as the reason for their absence. They rescheduled the meeting for a later date.

When the rescheduled call finally took place, Crumz noticed several red flags. The individuals on the call refused to activate their cameras, claiming technical difficulties. 

Another person claiming to be Steven Ehrlich, Forbes’ research director, joined the conversation. Crumz shared his BAYC journey, recounting the early days and highlighting the club’s unique features.

During the call, Crumz alleges that the scammers exhibited further suspicious behavior. They lacked a premium Zoom account and insisted on using multiple call links. 

Additionally, they requested permission to record the screen using a separate recording bot. Although Crumz initially thought nothing of it, alarm bells rang when they asked him to find a banana and say something that resembled his Bored Ape character.

Unable to produce a banana on the spot, Crumz excused himself momentarily, muting his screen. During this momentary lapse, the scammers attempted to take control of his computer, prompting him to intervene when they navigated to the website delegate.cash. 

Ultimately, all of Crumz’s valuable NFTs were securely stored in cold storage, safeguarding them from potential theft. He promptly shut down his computer to ensure his safety, hoping to sever any remote access the scammers may have gained. Crumz concluded:

Hopefully I’m safe now. Don’t think they can still control my computer when I turn it back on. Please be safe out there, it could’ve been a dreadful day today

Decline In Sales And Market Engagement

BAYC has recently witnessed a notable decline in various key metrics. The latest NFT data reveals a decrease in the number of sales, sales volume, and primary sales.

According to the latest figures, the number of sales has seen a significant drop of 33.59%, with 87 sales reported at present compared to 131 sales recorded the previous day. 

BAYC

This decrease in sales has also resulted in a decline in sales in USD, with a decrease of 38.02%. The current sales volume is $2 million, compared to $3 million on Sunday.

In terms of sales volume, primary sales have experienced a 100% decrease, with no current sales reported. In contrast, primary sales generated $12,000 in USD the previous day. Secondary sales volume has also declined 37.76%, with the current figure at $2 million, compared to $3 million from the previous day.

BAYC

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

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Blue Chip NFTs 101 – Let’s Travel To Space With The Doodles Collection

Veterans of the NFT big leagues, the Doodles let the CryptoPunks and Bored Apes take the spotlight and have been constantly working behind the scenes. Even though they’re not a worldwide brand like the other two, everybody’s seen the Doodles. They just don’t remember when or where they saw those little drawings. Don’t let that fool you, though. The collection’s total sales are  $496M, according to CryptoSlam. So far. 

The generative collection consists of 10,000 Doodles that “are made up of hundreds of exciting visual traits designed by Burnt Toast” AKA Scott Martin. The other two members of the team are Evan Keast and Jordan Castro, who in 2017 were part of the company that rocked the world with CryptoKitties. The first NFT project to jam the Ethereum blockchain. This experienced team has been key to the project’s success and constant expansion.

The Doodles exude class through and through. Their smart contract is auditable, their roadmap is public, and anyone can easily find them on the project’s website. An example of great management by an experienced team is that the Doodles invented whitelisting for minting events. The team closed the Discord before minting and gave their first followers, the people who were there from the beginning, the chance to mint first. The community at large saw the move as a mistake, but they quickly realized how smart the system really was.

According to their website, “hand-drawn Doodles include skellys, cats, aliens, apes and mascots. The Doodles collection also includes dozens of rare heads, costumes, and colorways of the artist’s palette.” According to OpenSea, the current floor price for a Doodle is 9.7 ETH and the total volume sold by the whole collection is 133.3K ETH.

The Doodles As A Governance Token

The project doesn’t contemplate NFT staking and it avoids the temptation of creating a new token for their ecosystem. The Doodles utility focuses on access to off the hook real-life events. More on that later. In the virtual world, though, they offer their holders new experiences like the Space Doodles and the Dooplicator. 

In addition to that, each Doodle is a sort-of governance token. A Doodle gives you voting and participation rights in the sort-of DAO that governs the whole project. The Doodle holders decide what to focus on next and control de community treasury, known as the DoodleBank. They have the right to vote on proposals, on the team and hiring, and on what to do in live events. Recently, they decided to fund a 3D Doodles project.

The communication flows through the project’s Discord channel. As it happens with most current NFT projects, this tool is a crucial part of the puzzle. For example, the Doodles server recently created a scam alert channel to protect the community from fraud and to have them monitor the internet for fake Doodles and people misrepresenting their brand.

ETH price chart on Bitstamp | Source: ETH/USD on TradingView.com
What Are The Space Doodles?

As a special benefit to holders, at no cost to them, they can wrap their Doodles and transform them into Space Doodles. These new NFTs put the original Doodle into a Spaceship and in a space-like environment. If you don’t like it or miss your PFP, you can always switch back to Doodles. You might not want to, though. According to Open Sea, the Space Doodles’ floor price is 11.8 ETH. Liquidity is another story, the total volume sold by the whole collection is 1.6K ETH.

All art by Burnt Toast himself.

The company has also given the community free swag like the Dooplicator. At the time of writing, the floor price for these space backpacks is 2.79 ETH.

The Future Of This Blue Chip Collection

You’re only as good as your last hit, and for the Doodles that could be their real-life event in the South by Southwest festival. A warehouse painted with the collection’s characteristic pastel scheme, with screens everywhere, it was the talk of the town. They also distributed an NFT in association with paint manufacturers Behr and illustrated by Burnt Toast. Hopefully, it will be worth something one day. 

The point is, one of the objectives of Doodles as a company is to focus on live events and ultimately become an entertainment company. That’s great for holders that live in the US, it means that they’ll get access to a lot of events where the company will distribute secondary NFTs. It also means that Doodles will be constantly interacting with brands, artists, and other projects. That continuous activity will push the brand name out there. 

Another important benefit for holders is that Doodles plans to give them property rights. Eventually, people will be able to launch their own Doodle-related products for a small fee. Considering that Doodles is a top 10 NFT collection, we would say most of the marketing work is already done.

Read other Blue Chip NFTs 101 guides: Moonbirds, DeGods, Proof Collective, and CloneX.

Featured Image: Screenshot from the site | Charts by TradingView