NFT
CryptoNovo, a NFT Influencer, announced Jan 4 that they had fallen prey to a cyberattack and that they lost two cryptopunks. The post on Twitter says “I just got hacked!!! Are you kidding?!” and includes a screenshot from OpenSea displaying two cryptopunks being transferred to another address.
I was just hacked!!
Are you kidding? pic.twitter.com/r1xS0mhD6P
— CryptoNovo (@CryptoNovo311) January 4, 2023
The attacker immediately sold the two cryptopunks, one for 70 Ethereum (equivalent $88,434 at the time of publication), and the other for $199 ETH ($251,404). The attack resulted in CryptoNovo losing over $300K worth cryptopunks.
The record of cryptopunk#4608 allegedly being transferred to the attacker’s wallet, moved to another wallet, and then sold for 199 ETH. Source: OpenSea
Many other NFTs were allegedly taken from the influencer including CloneX and Meebits.
CryptoNovo’s iconic green-beanie-wearing punk, #3706, appears to have been saved from the attack, although the owner also appears to have sold the item. While the items mentioned above were sent to a known phishing email address, #3706 the cryptopunk was sent to an entirely different address and sold for 75 Ethereum ($94,751). This address has also received items from thenovoverse.eth, an ENS domain that has itself received items from CryptoNovo’s official wallet address in the past. These facts might suggest that this item was sold by the owner and not an attacker.
Cryptopunk#3706. Source: OpenSea
CryptoNovo is a NFT influencer who has over 18,000 followers on Twitter. He is well-known for his masks, which make him look like the cryptopunk green-beanie-wearing first bought in 2020.
Photo of CryptoNovo, whose identity is not known.
Although CryptoNovo claimed the attack was a “hack,” Twitter user @__proper has pointed out that this is more likely to have been caused by phishing. CryptoNovo authorized several tokens to an unknown smart-contract shortly after the green beanie cryptopunk had been transferred to a secure address. It is this contract that subsequently used the transferFrom function on various NFTs to move them from the influencer’s wallet. This could indicate that someone might have tricked him to authorize a malicious Dapp in order to move his tokens.
It’s a terrible thing that happened. I am sorry and hope you are able to recover the pieces. If it’s any help, it looks like you may have a signed a txn granting an allowance to https://t.co/8Lpr10A3sz pic.twitter.com/pNMt5xrN0F
— proper (@__proper) January 4, 2023
Related: Magic Eden NFT service hacked. Shows porn instead correct images
A person also appears to be posing as CryptoNovo on Discord. Nine hours after the attack, he posted a Discord image that claimed to be him. But he said it was a fake account.
I have not asked anyone to send me anything. Please do not send anything using my account number or name. Below is a discord. The scammers are also posing as CryptoPunks owners. pic.twitter.com/9YWcTLYAJd
— CryptoNovo (@CryptoNovo311) January 4, 2023
Cryptopunks was one of the first “generative digital art” NFT collections or collections of art objects generated by an algorithm. It was released June 2017, and each unit was given away to anyone who could afford the gas costs to mint them. According to nftstats.com, today’s cryptopunks are selling for over $1,000.
The collection inspired thousands more generative NFT collections including Mutant Ape Yacht Club (Bored Ape Yacht Club), Meebits, etc.