Hackers crack Beeple’s Twitter profile in $438,000 scam
The fraudsters used a fake partnership with Louis Vuitton to steal ETH and NFTs
Non-fungible token (NFT) artist Mike Winkelmann, aka Beeple, had his Twitter account hacked as part of a phishing scam that saw scammers steal $438,000 in ether and NFTs on Saturday night.
According to MetaMask security expert Harry Denley, in around five hours on 21 May 2022, the scammers stole ETH135 (around $272,000) from people’s wallets and 45 NFTs, valued at around $166,000.
By Sunday morning, Beeple tweeted out: “Twitter was hacked but we have control now. Huge thanks to [VaynerMedia CEO] Gary Vaynerchuk [and] team for quick help.
“Stay safe out there, anything too good to be true is a scam. And as a side note, there will never be a surprise mint. I mention one time in one place starting at 6am Sunday morning.”
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What we know so far
According Denley, the scammers updated and posted a link on Beeple’s Twitter account, promoting a fake partnership between Beeple and the luxury fashion house, Louis Vuitton, to attract users.
The fake post offered 1,000 unique Beeple and Louis Vuitton NFTs promoting a raffle accessible by paying ETH1.
However, the link connected users to a dodgy website. When people clicked on it, one ether was automatically drained from their wallets.
Beeple, who has 673,000 Twitter followers, is one of the most popular NFT artists after his collage of 5,000 NFTs, called Everydays: The first 5,000 days, sold at Christie’s for $69m making headlines all over the world.
A real Beeple and Louis Vuitton NFT game launched in August 2021. The project went live Wednesday 4 August 2021 to celebrate the designer label’s 200th anniversary.
