05/01/2022 Thieves Steal Gallery Owner’s Multimillion-Dollar NFT Collection: ‘All My Apes Gone’

ape wearing a star studded helmet
Bored Ape Yacht Club, #9410, 2021Opensea

“I have been hacked. All my apes gone. This just sold please help me,” wrote gallery ownerTodd Kramer, of New York’s Ross + Kramer Gallery, in a since-deletedtweetposted on December 30.

A phishing scam had drained his Ethereum wallet of 15NFTsvalued at a total of $2.2 million, including four apes from the “Bored Ape Yacht Club” collection. The thief seemed to have sold off many of the pieces in Kramer’s collection, and Twitter users jeered at Kramer’s bad luck, pointing out that he had bet on an unregulated, decentralized system that would be unable to help him.

“Man If only there had been some kind of Regulating authority in place that could like Insure your investments against theft and fraud,” wrote one user with the handle @anarchy_shark.

But in the end, an authority did come through. With the help of the buyers and the NFT platform OpenSea, Kramer was able to get back several of his NFTs. Five hours after his original post, he wrote, in a tweet that has also since been deleted, “Update.. All Apes are frozen,,. Waiting for opensea team to get in,,,lessons learned. Use a hard wallet…”

OpenSea’s involvement sparked major controversy, with some alleging that NFTs could not truly be decentralized if it had “frozen” some, rendering them unsellable on the platform. Others pointed out that OpenSea had only frozen user’s ability to interact with the NFT through that one site alone—they could still be bought and sold elsewhere.

Neither OpenSea nor Kramer responded to requests for comment.

Phishing scams have become more frequent as NFTs have increased in value. However, most savvy users can protect themselves by using hard wallet, also known as a cold wallet, which is physical and only connects to the internet when plugged in and engaged. Kramer had been using a so-called hot wallet, which is continuously connected to the internet and thus more vulnerable.

More common than phishing scams, however, is theft of a different kind. Some people have begun making NFTs of art that they did not create, an issue for which no easy fix has yet been developed.

Arts

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/todd-kramer-nft-theft-1234614874/

Interesting NFTs
Gunky's Uprising
Gunky's Uprising by SSX3LAU Slimesunday and 3LAU team up once again under their alias SSX3LAU for a collection featuring their first exploration into color. TBD is a full length music video featuring an unreleased song from 3LAU and Slimesunday\u2019s mesmerizing animation. In a first for the artists, TBD\u2019s collector will have the opportunity to name the song (some restrictions apply).
#47424
By OthersideDeployer
DuDuLab #1287
Dr.bear Age: 25-now Background: Dudu became a mecphanic after various setbacks, helping him enrich his association's mechanical repair experience. Volunteered to repair the poor man's robotic arm on Dudu Island, and joined some like-minded people to create a robotic doctor.
taro
conceptual art. drawing and digitally processed
Her Mind Had Gone Out For A Stroll & Fallen Down The Rabbit Hole
Her Mind Had Gone Out For A Stroll & Fallen Down The Rabbit Hole' is the first programmable piece of art by Kitty Bast. The owner constructs, modifies & tattoos their very own Doll Lady... Is she falling down a rabbit hole, lost in a sea of cats or gazing into the unknown void? Do you like Pink Ladies or Lilac Ladies? Or do you pick the Wild Card? There's always a wild side to an innocent doll face. Is she obsessed with crypto ponies or crypto kitties? Or does she have an insatiable desire for Mr. Honey Badger. Come inside and have a nice cup of NFTea with the bunnies. Is your lady chained to the blockhain? Does your lady shed Bitcoin tears or ETH tears? Does your doll face don a Rotten Heart? Do you HODL to the Moon to meet the ETH Kitty? Do you have an obsession for cyborgs or Puddin'? Would you like a slice of Death by Pink? Is The Cat's Eye green or golden? Little trolls with mini daggers not included. The cheshire cat might trade you his ears for your goggles. Modifications of the Host. How long is forever? Sometimes, just one second.