Why should we avoid trading our NFTs directly with unknown people?
Recently, a not so sophisticated scam is preying on inexperienced users trading in the non-traditional tokens (NFTs) market. In this method, the fraudster asks you to enter into a direct transaction with him by offering a higher amount than expected or giving justifications such as removing the NFT transaction fee in common markets; But then he uses tricks to win your trust and steal your property.
Buying and selling of NFT is usually done in special markets for trading these assets, such as OpenSea. However, since the fever of NFTs has heated up over the past years, some more professional traders have been using the direct buying and selling method to reduce the costs of making trades. In such a way that they communicate directly with the owner of a specific non-traditional token and after negotiations, they trade that NFT for a certain amount of Ethereum, Tether or other digital currencies.
Also read: Introducing the biggest NFT markets
This method has its own advantages and in addition to eliminating the fees of NFT trading platforms, it also provides the possibility of bargaining for the parties. But the problem starts when some profit-seeking people deceive the owner with tricks by pretending to directly trade an NFT and finally steal that NFT without actually paying the money.
In this method, after seeing your NFT that you have placed in one of the trading markets of unpopular tokens, the fraudster contacts you through social networks or popular messengers (such as Telegram). He continues to show willingness to trade with you directly instead of buying your NFTs from mainstream markets. The fraudster’s justification for using this method will probably be things like not paying fees to the platforms.
In such a scenario, if the victim agrees to do the transaction directly, the fraudster has the opportunity to create a fake token with a name similar to popular stablecoins such as USDT or USDC (which does not have any special cost and effort) and offer A higher amount than you expect, to gain your confidence. Next, the scammer says that after the tokens are deposited into your account, you can send them NFTs. In this situation, if the victim does not have enough experience in working with platforms and identifying fake tokens, he will be tricked and will start sending his NFT after seeing the received tokens.
Although such a method of fraud seems very simple and ineffective, it is still preying on inexperienced users. In addition, fraudsters are always updating their methods and may use more sophisticated methods than those described in this article to win the trust of the victim.
Therefore, it is recommended that you never engage in direct transactions with unknown people and suspicious accounts on social networks if you are not fully confident in your mastery of the cryptocurrency and NFTs exchange space. If after considering all the aspects, you finally agree to make a direct transaction with the user, after receiving the token, be sure to compare the contract address of that digital currency with the official address registered on the website of the received token and make sure. that you have not received a fake token. Also, avoid giving away your NFTs in exchange for anonymous tokens and choose a cryptocurrency to exchange that has acceptable credibility.
