NFT Influencer Loses Holdings Through Accidental Google Ad Click

• An NFT influencer has lost his digital collectibles after clicking a malicious Google ad
• The influencer downloaded an infected software
• The influencer thinks he’s partly to blame for the loss, but it’s a reminder to be careful of searching for software

NFT influencer NFT God has lost a “life-changing” number of digital collectibles and crypto assets after downloading the OBS video streaming software through an infected Google ad. The influencer who goes by the name “NFT God” on Twitter said that he thought clicking the ad was the same as downloading the software from its original website. Detailing his ordeal in a Twitter thread, the influencer disclosed that the hackers also used the opportunity “to hurt others” and access multiple social media and messaging accounts, an occurrence that comes two weeks after RTFKT COO lost their digital collectibles to a “clever phisher”.

Twitter and Substack also Compromised

According to NFT God, he wanted to download video streaming software OBS, a process that he initiated on Google. However, when he searched for OBS multiple links came up and he absent mindedly clicked on a link that turned out to be an advert and not the official site. 

Yesterday afternoon I went to download OBS onto my personal desktop computer.

OBS is industry standard video streaming software. I was excited to live stream some video games for the first time in my life.

What I didn’t realize was I clicked the sponsored link on google

— NFT God (@NFT_GOD) January 15, 2023

Some time after receiving the software, NFT God noticed suspicious messages on his Twitter accounts. A day later, the influencer’s Substack account was infiltrated and scam emails were sent to his over 16,000 subscribers. He checked and realized that he had missed a malware alert for the software.

OpenSea Wallet Details Changed

The hackers continued to NFT God’s OpenSea account where they changed the owner of a Mutant Ape to “a completely different wallet.” Data shows that one of the NFTs siphoned from the influencer’s wallet was a Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFT worth over $25,000. According to NFT God, he had set up a hardware wallet as a hot wallet thus exposing the seed phrase which may have probably given the hacker easier access to his NFT and crypto wealth. 

Because of that I just didn’t have the urgency I should have had to buy a new one. It was always a thing to do for the next day.

Because of this, when the malware was installed on my computer, the hackers had access to my funds.

This is completely my fault.

— NFT God (@NFT_GOD) January 15, 2023

NFT God’s experience resembles that of CryptoNovo, an NFT diehard, who lost CryptoPunks worth over $330,000 after interacting with a malicious decentralized application (dApp). The issue is a reminder to be extra careful when using Google to find information and downloads, and when downloading software itself to verify that it is from the actual provider.

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