Top Shot NFT Scam: ESPN Reporter’s X Account Hacked to Promote NBA Fraud – Global Village Space
Top Shot NFT Scam: ESPN Reporter’s Account Hacked to Promote NBA Fraud
NFT scams and hacked accounts are unfortunately not uncommon in the world of cryptocurrency. However, it’s not every day that a high-profile ESPN reporter like Adrian Wojnarowski falls victim to a scammer looking to deceive users of the popular NFT project, NBA Top Shot.
On Saturday evening, Wojnarowski’s Twitter account, @wojespn, published a post that caught the attention of his 6.3 million followers. The tweet announced that NBA Top Shot was adding support for the Ethereum blockchain and offered a “free NFT pack” to customers who connected their crypto wallets to the platform.
The post received significant engagement, with hundreds of thousands of impressions, retweets, and likes. Users who clicked on the link were directed to the website “nbatopshot dot org,” where they were prompted to connect their crypto wallet to gain access to the supposed free NFT pack. However, the giveaway turned out to be a scam as NBA Top Shot’s official domain is “nbatopshot dot com,” not “dot org.” Wojnarowski’s Twitter account had been compromised.
Around an hour after the initial scam post, the official NBA Top Shot account issued a disclaimer, cautioning users about the fraudulent activity. They emphasized that there was no ongoing free airdrop happening on NBA Top Shot at that time and urged users to double-check links. The only official NBA Top Shot website is “https://nbatopshot.com.”
Airdrops are commonly used in the crypto space as promotional tactics, where projects reward users with tokens or NFTs after they invest or connect their crypto wallets to a platform. Unfortunately, scammers often exploit this practice to gain access to users’ wallets and drain their funds or assets.
NBA Top Shot was one of the hottest NFT projects during the early 2020s crypto boom. As an officially licensed NFT project, it allowed users to buy, sell, and trade their favorite NBA highlights. However, like many NFTs, NBA Top Shot’s popularity has declined significantly in recent years. In January 2024, the project had only 8,100 unique sellers and 5,550 unique buyers, according to Cryptoslam.io. This is a sharp decline from its peak in March 2021, where it boasted nearly 400,000 buyers.
Unfortunately, high-profile hacked accounts on Twitter have become all too common. Celebrities like Anya Taylor-Joy and LeVar Burton have also fallen victim to hackers who use their accounts to scam their followers out of money. Hackers often impersonate official Twitter accounts or employees and use social engineering techniques to deceive users into sharing their account information.
It remains unclear how many users, if any, fell for the NBA Top Shot NFT airdrop scam orchestrated through Wojnarowski’s account. The fraudulent post has since been removed.
Conclusion
The incident involving Adrian Wojnarowski’s hacked Twitter account and the subsequent promotion of a fake NBA Top Shot NFT airdrop serves as a reminder of the prevalence of scams in the cryptocurrency world. Users must remain vigilant and double-check the authenticity of links and promotions before sharing personal information or connecting their wallets.
NBA Top Shot, once a popular NFT project, has experienced a decline in popularity alongside the broader NFT market. While scams like this can harm the reputation of legitimate projects, it is crucial to remember that responsible platforms like NBA Top Shot prioritize user security and warn against fraudulent activities.
As the crypto industry continues to evolve and mature, it is essential for both users and platforms to stay educated about potential risks and take appropriate measures to protect themselves from scams and hacking attempts.
