In a shocking turn of events, the popular peer-to-peer trading platform NFT Trader fell victim to a major security breach on December 16. The incident resulted in hackers making off with millions of dollars’ worth of nonfungible tokens (NFTs), leaving users and the crypto community in dismay.
NFT Trader, acknowledging the breach on X (formerly Twitter), disclosed that the attackers exploited vulnerabilities in old smart contracts. The platform urgently advised users to revoke delegations to two specific addresses, namely 0xc310e760778ecbca4c65b6c559874757a4c4ece0 and 0x13d8faF4A690f5AE52E2D2C52938d1167057B9af.
Stolen Treasures: Mutant Apes, Bored Apes, and More
Among the looted NFTs were 13 Mutant Ape Yacht Club tokens, 37 Bored Ape tokens, and various VeeFriends and World of Women NFTs. The estimated losses from this breach tallied up to almost $3 million, as reported by Revoke.cash.
As news of the hack spread, social media platforms were flooded with rumors and misinformation. The scale of the attack and the number of hackers involved remain unclear. A public message from one of the attackers pointed fingers at another user for the original exploit, adding a layer of complexity to the unfolding narrative.
Unmasking the Attacker: Demands and Confessions
In an unusual twist, the attacker publicly confessed their motivations, stating, “I came here to pick up residual garbage.” The message hinted at a ransom demand, with the attacker requesting payments for the safe return of the pilfered NFTs.
Claiming limited technical skills, the hacker proposed a unique solution – a 10% bounty in Ether in exchange for the stolen NFTs. They elaborated on the challenges they faced in retrieving all affected NFTs at once, citing energy and time constraints. The message read, “If you want the monkey NFT back, then you need to pay me a bounty, which is what I deserve.”
Bizarre Acts of Restitution
In an unexpected turn of events, a victim revealed that the attacker returned a rare NFT along with 31 ETH, valued at nearly $70,680 at the time of reporting. The victim expressed astonishment, questioning the reality of the situation, “And now the hacker just sent me 31 ETH? What in the world is going on. Is this real life?”
The aftermath of the NFT Trader security breach continues to unfold, leaving the crypto community on edge. As investigations and recovery efforts intensify, users are advised to exercise caution and remain vigilant in the ever-evolving landscape of blockchain security.
