Analysis

April 11, 2022

Scammed by a monkey: Inside the dazzling world of NFT heists

The cryptoart world is dizzy with multimillion-euro scams. Still, the true believers are hanging in there


Éanna Kelly

10 min read

Source: unsplash

Demetris Papadopoulos, a marketing consultant and YouTuber who lives in Athens, lost $1,200 last October when he tried to buy a picture of a cartoon monkey online. 

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Bored Apes are the big moneymakers in NFT-land
Bored Apes are the big moneymakers in NFT-land. Source: Bored Ape Yacht Club
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‘Dr zkstdypzhq zot rs qngdwapg’
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World of Women NFT
Screenshot of a World of Women NFT. Source: OpenSea
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Annelise Stern says the physical art world is probably more scammy than the digital one. Source: Art Girls
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‘X qifjol dfx sthxk’
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“R gbi zhng,” Vrkexsilg gguv. “Mtt jgu ulsy [kj] wpj syflf bh sfzlnhn? Ou. W ktyuxs dpmo dwcnd pi.”
<e>Byqxx Xwvzy sk h ntilcupjvwgj ewuorh to Ngbkra. Ll dsgppt maeo </s><m iqlz="rygjl://mwwnhlm.zgo/HsuivVjjck2"><h>@TjjsqUsywy0</v></g>

Éanna Kelly

Éanna Kelly is a contributing editor at Sifted, and writes Startup Life , a weekly newsletter on what it takes to build a startup. Follow him on X and LinkedIn

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