Metaverse platform The Sandbox saw their Instagram profile hacked and used to attempt to rent Bored Ape Yacht Club non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from various users of the social media platform.
The voxel-powered platform’s profile was hijacked by hackers on Thursday, promoting a fabricated raffle ticket event that promoted a LAND Season 4 giveaway to unwary users.
The company said that its two-factor authentication and other security measures had been circumvented to promote the fake giveaway. The website URL of the profile was changed, and one user claimed to have lost NFT after opening the fake link.
Cointelegraph managed to follow the link to the fake web page, which asks users to connect their web wallets for a chance to win the fraudulent giveaway.
In an unexpected twist, Sandbox co-founder and COO, Sebastien Borget, revealed that hackers contacted several users on Instagram with profile photos of Bored Ape Yacht Club in an attempt to “rent” NFTs, offering 40 Ether (ETH) for using BAYC NFTs for 24 hours. .
Instagram account recovered. The hacker tried to rent Bored Apes Yacht Club NFTs – using our account. We would NEVER ask via DM and have contacted all users to notify them. https://t.co/1DRFR3JlIq pic.twitter.com/CKQWfVBTNF
— Sebastian (@borgetsebastien) September 8, 2022
According to Borget, The Sandbox managed to regain control of his Instagram account a few hours later, while the stories promoting the fake giveaway were still uploaded to the account at press time.
The NFT-powered digital world platform has collaborated with major brands and celebrities since its Alpha launch in November 2021. Characters of the stature of Paris Hilton Y Snoop Dogg have been associated with the platform, while notable clothing retailers like Adidas released NFT accessories compatible with The Sandbox and other metaverse platforms.
Cointelegraph has contacted The Sandbox to confirm details of the incident and will update this article accordingly.
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