NFT scams are not uncommon with Elon Musk’s X. No high-profile accounts on X (formerly Twitter) were hacked either.
However, it’s not uncommon for an ESPN reporter with millions of followers to be targeted by scammers trying to trick users of arguably the most mainstream NFT project into giving them access to their crypto wallets.
On Saturday night, ESPN veteran NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski’s account on X published a post linking to a “free NFT package” for NBA Top Shot customers who connect their crypto wallets to the platform.
Tweet may have been deleted
“Popular NFT platform NBA Top Shot is adding support for the popular Ethereum blockchain,” Wojnarowski’s @wojespn account release Giving him over 6.3 million followers. “To celebrate, we’re offering a free NFT pack to all customers while supplies last.” The post received hundreds of thousands of views and hundreds of retweets and likes.
A link included in the post sends users to the URL “nbatopshot dot org.” Users will be prompted to connect their crypto wallets in order to access a so-called “free NFT package.”
However, there’s a problem for those who click on that link: the giveaway isn’t real. NBA Top Shot’s official domain name is “nbatopshot dot com” not “dot org.” Wojnarowski’s X account was compromised.
The official NBA Top Shot account issued a disclaimer warning users about the scam about an hour after initially posting the scam information.
Tweet may have been deleted
“There are currently no free airdrops on NBA Top Shot,” @NBATopShot account release. “Please be careful and always double-check links. The only official NBA Top Shot website is https://nbatopshot.com. Thank you.”
Airdrops are a common promotional tactic in the crypto space, where projects will reward users with freebies such as tokens or NFTs after they invest in the project or connect a crypto wallet to the platform. This practice is also often exploited by scammers who hope to drain funds or assets from a user’s crypto wallet by taking advantage of the new permissions granted by the user after connecting their accounts.
NBA Top Shot was one of the hottest NFT projects during the cryptocurrency boom of the early 2020s. The officially licensed NFT project allows users to buy, sell and trade their favorite NBA highlights.
However, as edge pointed out that NBA Top Shot, like all NFTs, has experienced huge popularity in recent years.according to Cryptoslam.ioNBA Top Shot, which tracks NFT sales, had only about 8,100 unique sellers and 5,550 unique buyers in January 2024.This is all the way down The NBA Top Shot market peaked in March 2021 with nearly 400,000 buyers.
High-profile hacked accounts like Wojnarowski’s are becoming increasingly common on Elon Musk’s X. Mashable has previously reported on the surge in hacked accounts belonging to celebrity users, such as those promoting “10 MacBook” Scam.
celebrities like Anya Taylor-Joy and LeVar Burton Their X account was stolen and then used by hackers to try to scam their followers out of their money. Typically, these accounts are stolen by hackers posing as official Company X accounts or employees, who then use social engineering to get users to provide them with account information.
It’s unclear how many users, if any, fell into the NBA Top Shot NFT airdrop scam. The post on Wojnarowski’s account has now been deleted.