On April 1, Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou posted on social media that his Bored Ape NFT, BAYC #3738, had been stolen and is suspected of falling victim to a phishing attack. Its theft was not an April Fool’s joke.
Why it matters
It was not the first time NFT assets had been hit by a phishing attack. The cost of theft is low, but the income is quite high.
At present, the NFT industry lacks sufficient regulatory policies and relevant legal norms. In addition to the risk of theft Jay Chou encountered, improper speculation, online fraud and other illegal activities are also hidden issues encountered in the NFT industry. Therefore, the consumer experience of many NFT platforms is poor as they struggle to protect the rights of buyers.
Context
According to LOOKSRARE, the NFT that Jay received from a friend in January was resold several times within an hour after it was transferred from Jay’s address and traded for 130 ETH and 155 ETH respectively. This NFT is worth more than 3.2 million yuan (over $500,000) at current prices.
Jay’s stolen NFT belongs to Bored Ape Yacht Club, or BAYC, is a top-selling series of NFTs owned by Yuga Labs. This series was made up of 10,000 ape NFTs with different characteristics and attributes, which was priced at about $200 (1272.68 yuan) each when it went online. All 10,000 of the animated apes sold out immediately on launch night.
