The criminals used a phony Gutter Cat Gang airdrop fraud to steal at least $700,000 worth of NFTs from a single address, draining people’s wallets.
A stated SIM swap attack on the Gutter Cat Gang NFT project led to the theft of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) valued at more than $765,000. On July 7, the NFT community became aware of the security breach, and Gutter Cat Gang co-founder @GutterMitch sent a Twitter alert regarding the compromise of their account.
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Both the official Gutter Cat Gang Twitter account and the co-founder’s account, @gutterric, were taken over by the hacker(s). Links to fake “limited edition” Gutter Cat Gang NFT sneaker airdrops were shared using the hacked accounts, and upon clicking, users’ hot wallets were drained.
The tweets utilized current branding and images from the Gutter Cat Gang project’s physical sneaker drop, which involved partnerships with Puma and NBA/Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball, in order to give the false links the appearance of legitimacy.
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In response to Gutter Mitch’s tweet, blockchain researcher ZachXBT asserted that the team had been the subject of a SIM swap attack. He questioned the team’s cybersecurity procedures and said that victims should be compensated because SMS 2FA was used, which has been linked to other SIM swap problems.
ZachXBT identified two attack victims in a thread. According to current floor prices, one person lost an NFT from the Bored Ape Yacht Club that is worth $65,913 while another lost a significant amount of NFTs from various blue-chip collections that are worth about $700,000.
In a statement on the matter, the co-founder of the Gutter Cat Gang, @gutterdan_, stated that they are collaborating with Twitter to reclaim control of the hijacked accounts. He expressed compassion for the victims of the attack and assured the neighborhood that they are actively investigating the incident and working with law police.
The event serves as a reminder of the value of strong cybersecurity procedures in the NFT industry. The necessity for more robust authentication procedures to safeguard consumers’ digital assets is highlighted by the use of SIM swap attacks, in which hackers take over a target’s phone number to get around security protections.
Related: Crypto Hacker PlugwalkJoe Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for SIM Swap Scam
The hijacked Gutter Cat Gang-associated Twitter accounts are still in the hackers’ control as of the time of writing, and work is being done to reclaim control and fix the security issue. The incident serves as a warning for NFT projects and users to be watchful and implement the necessary safety measures to protect their investments.