How to Avoid Common Crypto NFT Art Scams on OpenSea (and Everywhere Else Too!)
Learn how to protect yourself from NFT scams on OpenSea!
Protect Your NFTs With a Ledger Wallet - shop.ledger.com/?r=079c69005c4e
Check out my Photoshop and Illustrator kits! 🦄 bit.ly/2WST1Oo
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NFT Playlist - kzhead.info/channel/PLLLdsxUVpU8RXFWLdhCb5IEQZPVYj63d6.html
PPMan's Hardware Wallet Article - medium.com/@ppman/a-quick-guide-to-crypto-cold-storage-for-ethereum-nft-holders-d23f3f913b1a
This video covers some of the most common ways you can get scammed or hacked within the NFT space. The NFT space is growing rapidly and has a TON of opportunity, but with that explosive growth and wild opportunity comes people who want to take advantage of you. This video was made to help you avoid getting scammed so your experience can remain a positive one.
I cover fake NFTs on OpenSea, how to compare NFT contracts to verify what you have is legit, common phishing scams trying to steal your information, as well as give a brief overview of why you should use a hardware wallet to protect what you have. I hope this video is helpful!
Have any questions about what you've seen in the video? Feel free to leave a comment!
Intro - 0:00
Spotting Fake NFTs on OpenSea - 1:32
Using the Contract to Verify Authenticity - 3:46
Phising Scams - 6:50
Hardware Wallets - 11:37
Conclusion - 14:16
#NFT #Crypto #NFTScams
OpenSea should have something in place that prevents these Scams from happening.
half the scammers are opensea employees
@@indo4954 wow. Insane.
@@indo4954 source?
Gamestop is opening its own NFT marketplace. Hopefully they do it right.
The human brain should have something in place that prevents these scams from happening. Oh yeah, it does. It's called common sense and if you don't use it, you're screwed.
Super helpful! I watched through this video before buying my first NFT, and so glad I did because it helped me very clearly identify that the one I wanted to purchase was not authentic. Thank you!
Awesome, glad it helped Hannah!
A channel which genuinely helps people. Great video, mate. Cheers!
Thanks!
Matt, can you please create a video showing how to move NFT from opensea to Ledger? I connected Metamask to my ledger (Hardware wallet) but I don't know to which address I have to transfer my nft? Thanks ***I found the workaround, go to the hardware wallet, copy the ETH address (hit receive get the address) and then from opensea transfer your nft as a gift to the Eth address of the hardware wallet.
Thanks for this. Just getting into NFTS
This was so helpful! Thanks for going into detail about how to see if an NFT is legit.
Quick Q:I'm trying to sell nft from opensea via my coinbase wallet I change my rpc to unlock traiding (from eth to polygon network) unfortunately after this all my matic crypto aren't visible in wallet and can't pay network fee....any recommendations?
Thanks for this video. I am new to NFTs and recently put my work out there. This was very informative and appreciated.
How’s it going so far?? Good?
@@jimmycrackcorn4261 Have not sold a thing. My fault tho, haven't put much effort into it. Thanks for askin'
super video!!!!! , mais je voulais savoir si on pouvais mettre un NFT sur un nano s par exemple?
do you have videos on how to make your NFT's show up on pensea searchs? I've made a few and I can't even find it on opensea through search. also, are there any tips on how to mint your NFT and look professional?
sir how i verify my account.i already submit some my portrait arts on opensea by the name of (demet sketch) my icon is still blue
This video was amazing. 🤔🔥🔥❤️👍🏾 Thank you! Liked & subbed
Legend🙌🏽 This will come in handy for when or if I eventually buy an nft. Thanks
Thank you so much! Super helpful info!! Question for you: Does a Ledger protect any coin? Or only specifically ETH only for example? Or did you mean that it only protects your seed phrase? Thank you
You seed phrase / private key is what protects your coins. Ledger allows a ton of different coins. BTC, ETH, etc etc. I have a newer security video that goes much more in depth. :)
Matt you're a legend, great video!
I made a collection and now ,idk how but it has 2 owners now me and someone else that says its minted by him what does that mean
thanks for the tips! can't wait to use these methods on NFTBros
NFT scams, aka...... NFT's
hello, is there aml verification? and if is, what that means?
Great vid.....getting email from Rarible for my domain name....several offers....then it shows in Rarible.....I click....and nothing shows up. ...unable to act on bids.
Never enter your seed phrase online anywhere. Great video!!
Thank you!
Anywhere?
I have a random NFT in my collection I never purchased, whats the deal? Its not a good NFT if that matters, random photo.
Hi there. I need help. I have received an airdrop nft from paralell where i am told i am i a premint as i am a holder of an certain nft. This nft is a invitiation premint card. It was in hidden. So i unhide it at look at the link. This link showed page not find. I was told on discord these could be scam. What can i do now with this damn thing. I did not provide any information
thank you mate :) this is very helpful :)
Very helpful, thanks a lot!
Really helpful you just answer my question Thanks 🙏🏼
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this info. Definitely helpful knowledge to have before I make my first NFT purchase. I appreciate you!
Thanks Michele!
Hi. Great info. Thank you. I have a question. When I wake up to a handful of new ape nfts in my hidden folder that I did not buy, would it be detrimental to unhide them or get rid of them somehow? I currently have 14 apes in my hidden folder than I did not purchase. What should I do?
I would leave them hidden and not interact with them in any way. Doing so removes any risk for you. If you send them somewhere you'd be interacting with their context, which could be malicious. Hiding and removing them from hidden in os is fine. It should never cost gas to do so.
@@MattBorchert Thank you. OpenSea gave me a dead wallet address to send them to, but I don't want to risk it. I'll leave them be, right where they are, in the hidden folder. I received a few that weren't apes, but not knowing who dropped them makes me nervous.
@@lethalprincess9317 Yeah sadly this is fairly common and quite annoying.
My $24000 was taking away from trading platform. I was totally down. It really got to me that I almost gave up. Then i got access to my savings through a God sent who helped me out. "you can get to him through the name above”.
Are there any risk to receiving free airdrops by giving wallet address?
Very helpful, thanks.
If I want to secure two different wallets for two different currencies with the same ledger nano? Is that possible?
Sorry for the slow reply, but yes!
Hey Matt I hope you reply to this asap. In meta legends. Checked nft checker says assest strength medium, assest can be lost without reoccurring payment. Thoughts? Please respond fast. On open sea currently
This happens on new collections that aren't yet verified. I don't know enough to provide you any other details. Doesn't mean it's bad, doesn't mean it's good. Best bet is to get the official link directly from the project's website, Twitter, etc.
Thank you. Excellent information.
Bro, I just checked that Zora account and they have now 653 ETH traded... how come?
So your definition of fake is not from a verified collection?
Yes, that's one instance. Fake to me generally encompasses anyone selling an asset that someone else created on their own contract.
Just created a NFT over Polygon without paying anything and now there 2 owners in my collection. Someone just mined my NFT. What does that mean?
Thanks so much very informative God bless!!!
Hi, if i minted an artwork from group A for 10 usd for an example and one day later i saw an identical artwork listed for sale and someone else bought it but with a different serial number, what should i do? I checked with group A and he admitted it is identical and no idea why and guess it was created due to glitch.
Not much to do then. Sometimes the same art is purposely created with many editions, same thing happens with physical art. If the artist accidentally duplicated it, maybe ask for a refund or for a new unique piece of art
Just tried to buy an NFT for the first time and spent a shit tone on gas fees just to have the transaction error out. I’ll be avoiding open sea going forward (yes I know the gas fee doesn’t go to them).
Thank you for this video Matt!
No worries, happy to help! :)
Thanks for the video! My question: Yesterday I sold 2 of my first NFTs on Opensea but I still didn't get the ether onto my wallet. Etherscan checked: tokens sold. But no ether received. AT ALL. Is this also some sort of scam on opensea or is this just opensea bugs you think?
Were you paid in wETH and not ETH? Double check to see if there is wETH in your wallet. (You can check on Uniswap easily, or OpenSea has a converter built in)
@@MattBorchert No, I checked everywhere, but I didn't receive any payment. This is some mad joke thing.
@@yns67868 Did your funds ever show up?
@@MrLuvbizwar yes, they were there but I didn't see them. Because they showed 0.00 eth but the correct amount was in my wallet, so all fine
Same to me
good video nice to see other people making efforts to lessen people getting scammed. can you make a video about the very basics of NFT arts ?? im new to this and i wanna learn
I do have some older videos on my channel covering NFTs that you may find helpful, but I'll continue making new content in the future as well. :)
@@MattBorchert thankyou man! excited to see new contents
great video - subscribed!
I dont understand NFT, but now I wont get scammed, thanks
🤣
Just noticed a blue check mark added to avatar photo on a project! Be sure the blue check shows in the search and not only next to the Avatar!! Stay safe
Amazing video and very helpful 🙂
You are truly a gem sir. 🙏
Ty for this! I am posting my 1st series and still new to this. But my art work is original. My goal is to make my nfts useful in the metaverse. This is fun so far tbh.
That's awesome, best of luck on your journey!
@@MattBorchert ty I hope I can be seen in the community and be apart of it.
Is there a way to lessen the gas fee from transferring to my other hot wallet? Will lowering to 50 gwei be alright? Thank you
You can keep an eye on current gas prices and set it to send when they're low. You can certainly set 50 and leave it overnight to see if it sends! It depends on the network's load at the time.
My NFTs has been blocked (not viewable) on Opensea. How do hackers block your NFTs? And how can I unblock my nfts? Plz make a video on this. Thank you.
hi i just went on a buying spree last night on open sea buying bored bunny and i wish i seen this video because i just got scammed for $1500 and i dont know what i can do about it. any suggestions?
Sadly not much to be done as that money is gone now and it probably won't be recovered. You could reach out to OpenSea directly (make sure it's really them, lots of scammers will pretend, including in comments here) and they may be able to assist.
Matt is open sea compatible with ledger?
Yep! You just connect your Ledger to Metamask and you're good to go.
another great video. hat's off Matt
OpenSea should not allow fake accounts to market the most notable NFT’s that are currently on the market
Thanks for this helpful vid! Quick question- if you bought a fake nft on opensea but don't want it anymore and don't want to resell it bc you know it's fake, how do you get rid of it? I don't want to get rid of the wallet bc i'm selling my nft's through it, i just want to get rid of the scammy nft's. thanks again!
You can use the hide functionality on OpenSea for free, or you can send it to a burn address. A bunch of 0's. That being said, if you're ever sent an NFT you didn't buy, just hide it and never interact with it in any other way. Some can have malicious contracts. Hiding doesn't use the contract, but transferring to a burn address would.
@@MattBorchert thanks! the (fake) ones i bought won't interact (steal) the rest of the assets in my wallet if i don't use them?
@@cryptopaul770 No, if the contract has executed (assuming it doesn't stay open in perpetuity, which very few contracts do) it won't be able to do anything else. You can check on revoke.cash for open contracts if you want to be extra cautious.
Hello! but what can I do if I bought a fake nft and I have the address of the wallet where I got it from, the registered transaction ... that is, is there anything legal that can happen to the person with the wallet? Like money back or jail if we find him?
Theoretically that person committed a crime if they uploaded someone else's work, but chasing them down will be difficult. If it wasn't a significant amount of money I'd personally consider it a lesson learned and move on.
@@MattBorchert yes he used someone else's work ... but isn't it legally regulated correctly? He.. can't be "judged" ... right?
I mean... i m just tormented me in vain right?
@@IGabML Stealing someone else's work is a crime, the problem is tracking them down. Also the artist that had their work stolen is the person who would have most of the power here. They can contact OpenSea and have the fake listings pulled down.
Does "lazy minting" actually mint your artwork onto the blockchain? Asking because what if a small artist like myself list my artwork on Opensea, and no one knows about me, and the scammers steal my art and list them on Opensea and sell them before I do. Does the blockchain deem the scammer as the first person to actually mint the art under their account?
Yes, that still mints to the blockchain. If you aren't a well known artist, I wouldn't worry too much about scammers uploading your work.
@@MattBorchert thanks for replying!!! Makes sense, but listing it on opensea doesn't mints the work to blockchain, right?
@@sairooroo931 You can only list NFTs minted to a blockchain on OpenSea.
Awesome vid, the leeches exist everywhere. Thanks for making this clear. Last thing. The only time to buy nfts is in a live auction right. For the best price?
Making wETH offers is your best shot. Very few NFTs are actually sold via auctions.
What if you're buying from a startup or just like the art? Also what to do with random airdrops? Is it safe to try to sell them?
I would hide or leave unknown airdrops hidden and don't interact with them in any other way. It's possible that contracts they're written on are malicious.
Can i enter my sea phrase on a device that cannot access internet? I mean, on my broken phone xD i use it to make quick notes but cannot access internet so i guess i can store it there
If it never connects to the internet you could.
for phising scams, can your wallet be corrupted from interacting with the address?
I don't know exactly what sort of phishing scam you're refencing here. My understanding is that a corrupt contract can only continue to do harm while it is being executed. Most phishing scams that I know of will seek to get your seed phrase / private key, in which case, that wallet is corrupt forever and should never be used again.
I did click on a discord link and I did connect my wallet didn’t send any money though and immediately disconnected after it felt too good to be true am I safe is my wallet safe?
If you connected your wallet to a potentially malicious site, I'd create a new one and move everything over.
I've had people send me random NFTs that end up in my hidden on OpenSea. Just want to cover all my bases, could there be anything malicious about them? Or are those safe?
Don't interact with them and leave them in your hidden folder. They can be malicious.
Top Quality Video - Very helpful indeed! Just got into NFTs for about 5 months - I have been scammed though - in the first few weeks!
Sorry to hear that. :( One of the negatives of any new technology, is that with so many people learning, it's an opportunity for scammers to prey on those learning.
@@MattBorchert True - Human nature transcends technology
I just purchased what I thought was an Invisible Friend NFT. Is there anyway to get my money back? :( I had no idea scammers existed on Opensea.. Yes it was my first pruchase. I lost about $400. Any help appreciated
Sadly it's unlikely that you'll get your money back. :( You can contact OpenSea support and they'll let you know what your options are.
You can contact opensea they'll get it back
@@jamessandres9412 This is not true. Once an asset is lost on the blockchain, it's gone forever. OpenSea cannot control individual wallets. They have given refunds before when they were at fault, but if you were simply scammed, they will not assist.
I got a punk it was zero eth so I paid 40$ bucks gas fee. and I try to list it for sell it won't let me. and when I click on it it takes me too City punks let me know what's going on im new to it. thx
You got scammed for $40 why would they sell it for free P
lol scammed
Thanks for the video!! have to be extremely safe when it comes to crypto
Wow...an eye opener
What if you buy a non official NFT as you showed, what happen there for ?
I would hide the NFT and never interact with it.
Also you could get scammed when minting. Dont just trust a site make sure you research everything.
Very true!
Hi Matt! thanks a lot for the video. what if I started and did not know all about this ..and did buy fake ones. I realized after and tried to sell them, which was I guess was a big mistake.. I canceled them again, but still I guess I signed on Mm - heeelp ! haha
Should I just use a VPN to purchase on open sea? My hold up this entire time is Im not trusting I connect my wallet and its safe
VPNs won't protect you. Using a hardware wallet and never sharing your seed phrase will.
Hi, I recently joined Opensea and uploaded a few NFTs but my account is not verified and doesn't have any social media presence. It means no one would rely on my account and my NFTs would not be selled
You will indeed have to figure out a way to market what you've created so others can find and appreciate it.
@@MattBorchert Thanks sir, for your reply
keep doing this videos help me a lot
Glad they're helpful!
open C still not doing anything by allowing all these scams?
Serious question, what difference does it make if you buy from a legit place or a scammer? Do people get anything when buying from the real sellers, or in the end is just an image? Which wouldn’t make a difference? Not buying any, just curious lol Edit:Nevermind, I guess it’s what you said about getting our info.
Beyond that, NFTs act as sort of a "access pass" that behave in all sorts of different ways for different projects. Maybe they earn you a token, maybe you earn royalties, maybe you get special features in a game. Broadly speaking, the image is a very very small part of the value of many NFTs. Mt NFTs explained video covers 6 different interesting use cases from different projects.
how about if you had the real NFT, then you want to sell it. how will you do for it ?
Almost all sales happen on OpenSea. You'd simply lift it for sale there.
What about the weird NFTs that appear in your wallet "out of nowhere" that when you click on them or delete, delist, etc. interact in any way - they steal all your money from the metamask. How should we deal with those in case it happens?
Put them in your hidden folder / leave them in your hidden folder and never interact with them. :)
@@MattBorchert Isn't hiding them considered an interaction? The fact that even clicking on them can get your assets stolen is scary!
@@daddysinstiktoks6187 No, hiding them on OpenSea is an OpenSea interaction, not a blockchain one.
Though you have very few videos on NFT, your videos are highly helpful🙌🏼💯 please make more videos like this to help us🙏🏾 .. This guy bought the bored ape NFT when they were still at a couple $100s which was a good idea😎🤑.. so I think you’re worth following for ideas on which projects to invest in
Thank you, I'll do my best.
@@MattBorchert thank you for considering.. I’m still a newbie in the NFT space and I want to learn as much as I can before I invest.. I’m not rich and can’t afford to loose much😂
@@niftypunk7120 I would consider any money you put into NFTs to be instantly gone forever. If you aren't comfortable losing what you put in, I would suggest staying out. It's very volatile, very very very risky. I think it's better to look at it as participating in the birth of a technology rather than an investment.
@@MattBorchert thank you for the advice.. i might succeed if I look at NFT from your own perspective. i look forward to seeing your next upload
thanks
Is it possible for a fake nft to have properties? And if a nft doesn’t have properties does that always mean it’s fake?
Scam NFTs can also have properties, and legit ones can have no properties. That's just as a frame of reference if you know what the legitimate NFT's properties should look like.
Can scammers do anything if they just get the password for your metamask account?
If they can access your browser remotely they'll be able to get your seed phrase and empty your wallet. This would not be the case if you use a hardware wallet.
Thanks, Have never got asked for phrase, but just won two giveaways, and they both said i need to have any amount of crypto in my wallet to continue, they're implying i need to be an active investor.. It is a scam right
There is no reason for anyone to require your wallet to have a balance. I generally assume the vast majority of crypto "giveaways" are scams.
super helpful
Post the name of NFT minting sites that the scammers send you to. They show up as scams then in a search.
really helpful
People keep messaging me on my AI art Instagram page asking to buy my photos as NFTs. How can I tell if these are scams, or are they all scams?
If you're interested in making NFTs from your artwork, just add them to a marketplace and then share the link. Don't do individual deals with people. Stick to trusted marketplaces like OpenSea. :)
Important ang good video👍👍
I've paid for a nft I've never received smh I didn't know but thanks for the info
good info to know
What do you think of those random NFTs sent to your address randomly? I'm reluctant to sell it as I have to "sign" the metamask to do so...
I recommend using the hide feature on OpenSea and doing nothing else.
O god i had one pop up on my hide feature hopefully its legit.
@@CarlosMartinez-lx1bl I'd suggest not interacting with it unless you know the team it came from. I just leave them hidden. :)
@@MattBorchert Stupidly I have unhid one and accepted as normal on Metamask, I locked my Account and Hid it again. Should I be concerned?
@@Alex-cc5qz If you only unhid and then hid again, you're fine. That's just an interaction with OpenSea, not the token itself. :)
I don’t understand 1 thing. What if you cannot find another NFt that’s exactly the same to compare it to and what if they do not ask for your information… and what if they also have properties how would I know if it’s actually real just because everything I just stated is true
As mentioned in this video, you need to find the original contract and compare it. It's very easy to tell fakes once you know what to look for.
Wish I would have watched this before I got scammed
Sorry to hear that Roberto. :(
same
how?
Do you have any socials where I can follow you?
I'm mattborchert on Twitter :)
What happens if you did not give your seed phrase, but when there was a public minting you clicked on the website and was tricked by the minting the actual NFT? Is that the same as giving your metamask key phrase and do I need to change my metamask account?
Not the same, no. It is possible for any contact you interact with to be malicious though, so don't interact with NFTs or pages you aren't sure are legitimate.
What's the difference between a fake and the real nft tho. Isn't it just from another creator then?
As noted in the video, it's easily established by it coming from an unofficial contract. Much like Bitcoin, it has no value if it isn't on the official chain / contract.
I fell for this shit, I’m worried my wallet is compromised, didn’t give my key or anything. It was on OpenSea, my money is still there. Got taken for $40 which is nothing compared to what is in my wallet. Any advice?
If you only purchased a"fake" item, you'll be fine. :)
as a seller, what can we do to protect our nft from screenshot/scammers? like to prove the authenticity of our work. like for example an artist who doesnt have their own website
@@ManLikeEddy You don't its inevedible
I have an unsolicited transfer into my opensea account...some kind of skeleton pfp? it feels super fishy. is my account in danger of being hacked?
That's actually fairly typical. I wouldn't worry about it.
What do you think about Polygon vs.Ethereum? Can you do a KZhead Video about that because Gas & Minting Fees are Expensive and Polygon is Free and more Efficient. Because most NFT Collectors and Sellers use Ethereum does that effect the ability to sell a NFT?
Polygon has dramatically less sales volume and adds complexity for buyers. While it may be super good in the future, right now I'd avoid using it. ETH changes to proof of stake very very soon quick will reduce its energy usage by 99.95% and also make gas fees almost nothing. I'd wait for that.
Thanks Matt. I really appreciate you quick & knowledgeable advice.