Forbes Impostors Target BAYC NFT Owners in Scam Plot

The digital landscape of NFTs, a frontier filled with innovation and creativity, has its shadowed corners where scammers lurk, scheming to dupe the unwary. In an alarming development within this world of pixelated prestige, fraudsters have emerged with a new guise, posing as reputable journalists from Forbes magazine and preying on holders of the exclusive Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs.

A recent incident came to light when a BAYC enthusiast known by the alias “Crumz” recounted his close brush with these nefarious actors. Crumz’s alarming narrative began innocently enough; a direct message on the social platform X, formerly known as Twitter, from an individual impersonating Robert Lafranco, a Forbes editor. Tempted by the possibility of being spotlighted in a reputed publication, Crumz proceeded with caution, validating the editor’s identity online where a veneer of legitimacy had been craftily erected by the scammers.

Engaging with his curiosity, Crumz entertained a conversation which promised to chronicle valuable insights from a bona fide BAYC proprietor for a forthcoming Forbes piece. Initial skepticism was momentarily shelved as Crumz prepared to share his experiences through a scheduled Zoom conversation.

However, telltale signs of deceit began to surface when the supposed journalists failed to attend the first scheduled meeting, blaming an emergency of personal nature—only to reschedule it later. During the subsequent virtual meeting, the fraudsters refrained from activating their video feed, hiding behind claims of technical issues. Joining the call under the name of Steven Ehrlich, allegedly of Forbes’ research team, another shameless impersonator tempted Crumz further into their ruse.

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As Crumz recounted the adventures and allure of his BAYC membership, the situation became increasingly suspect. A non-premium Zoom account, persistent swapping of call links, and an unusual request to record the screen were just a few aspects that raised Crumz’s apprehension. It wasn’t until the imitators concocted a bizarre task involving a banana, mimicking his NFT avatar’s actions, that Crumz’s skepticism peaked.

Sensing something was amiss when they navigated to the shady delegate.cash website in an attempt to hijack his computer, Crumz only narrowly averted disaster. Prudently, his valuable tokens were protected in offline cold storage, thwarting the theft. The encounter concluded with a swift and defensive shutdown of his computer, with hopes of disrupting any unauthorized access, and a stark warning to others:

"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."

In other concerning news for the NFT community, BAYC has been witnessing a slump in some critical performance indicators. Recent data has showcased a precipitous dip in the volume of trades, the total value of such sales, and the number of first-time sales.

Precisely, there’s been a stark 33.59% tumble in sales figures, a comparison painting a grim picture of 87 current sales against the larger 131 sales observed just the day before. This downward slope extends to the turnover in USD as well, suffering a 38.02% blow. Where once there was a $3 million mark achieved on Sunday, the number has since shrunk to $2 million.

The decline story reverberates through primary sales as well, which have ground to a startling halt from the previous day’s $12,000 sum. The volume derived from secondary sales has also taken a hit, registering a 37.76% fall to rest at $2 million. With the liquidity of the BAYC pool ebbing away, and Apecoin’s valuation similarly descending on the daily charts, the community eyes the trends with mounting trepidation.

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