Crypto Art NFT: A practical guide to avoiding NFT scams

Crypto Art NFT: A practical guide to avoiding NFT scams

 

Crypto Art NFT – Is the new way for artist to produce digital art, & then sell their NFTS on the NFT Marketplace. NFTS or Non Fungible Tokens are unique & signed on the Ethereum Blockchain. Once NFTS are minted they are protected by encryptions.

The challenge in such an explosive market is that it attracts confidence-undermining scams and negatively affects Crypto Art NFT creators and collectors. Check out a guide to help in this market.

 

Just over a year ago, few were aware of the existence of NFTs. But these days, NFTs are throughout and in everyone's thoughts, from family and friends to co-employees, TikTok creators, YouTube influencers, in newsletters, and mainstream media. They are so prevalent that Crypto Art NFT was voted Word of the Year for 2021 by the Collins Dictionary!

 

A small, niche market that was less than $70 million in total sales in 2020 rose to $10.7 billion in the third quarter, so it's no wonder everyone wants to join! Artists, musicians, and creators looking for a new source of income, and collectors, art lovers, fans, and investors who want to support, collect and earn money.

 

Blow it's there, whoever wants to fall?

Purchasing an NFT is diverse to purchasing anything else connected. It is a complex process and has many steps, each presenting its challenges and therefore the opportunity to take your hard-earned money with one scam.

 

When something is bought online, were usually obtaining it from a trusted seller utilizing a reputable payment processing service. The payment processor generally collects merchant business information, including business registration and government identities.

 

Most importantly, the process is reversible, meaning you can usually return the product to the merchant, and if the merchant refuses to do so and is running some sort of scam, you can report the transaction to the payment processor, your credit card issuer, or your bank, which can reverse the payment. 

But an NFT transaction is final, you have no resources, no support, no one to call, and no one to contact! You're all solitary, you can't contest in the background, however, the only way you can protest is to alert the community and make it known publicly.

 

How scams work

NFT scammers have a collection of things that make them vulnerable. These things form the anatomy of a Crypto Art NFT scam, which you need to know to protect yourself.

 

FOMO is the threat of missing out is a strong force that an individual cannot dismiss! A person does not have the same thinking as an individual reading these prompts when FOMO sets in. You may be saying to yourself “I can't do it”, but it could be you. Even savvy investors realize the power of this way of thinking and set rules to protect themselves from it.

 

NFTs, by definition, are scarce and in demand, so you have a few seconds to make the decision to enter a new drop or release before the opportunity is lost forever.

 

Besides, you can wait, but that usually means you might have to pay 10-1000 times the price you might get when a new opportunity becomes available. Simply put, NFTs are designed to capitalize on FOMO. So unless you have rules in place and no loopholes, you are vulnerable.

 

With the FOMO in full swing, your guard is down and you're rushing to gather the capital and get one of those “rare NFTs” that have just emerged before someone else acquires in front of you. In this rush, you can't see review the notification you received and see if it's from the official account.

 

Although the hyperlinked text has the official name of the project, let's say the official Bored Ape Yacht Club website, if you check the link, you will see that it is directed to another web address, e.g. boredapyactclub.com – Please note that it is “boring ap yact club”, which is missing the “e” of the monkey and the “h” of the yacht.

 

If the notification is coming in via email, the “From” field might have the project founder's name, i.e. Gordon Goner, and when you check the email address, it's probably a Gmail address, boredapyactclub@ gmail.com instead of Gordon@boredapeyachtclub.com.

 

If you click on the link, you will be taken to a one-page website whose purpose is to get you to pay to get Crypto Art NFT before someone else does. And that's usually where the “house falls”.

 

NFT scams are generally supported using graphics taken from the Crypto Art NFT project website and images shared online, in addition to using language similar to what the project team is using.

 

Now that you've clicked on the link that says, Official website of the project, you've landed on the page set up to get your money out of a scam. You will see the count of NFTs being minted increasing while the count of the remaining NFTs dropping.

 

NFTNews - While this is the least sophisticated component of the scam, now that you're psychologically in the FOMO, full of enthusiasm with every step you take to achieve the coveted NFT, the familiar graphics and icons give you a sense of confidence and familiarity as you rush to connect your crypto wallet.

 

For a small moment after finishing the purchase, you feel great. You can't wait for your Crypto Art NFT to appear in your wallet so you can proudly display it to the world.

 

Where is it, you wonder, why isn't it showing up?! You start looking for answers. Meanwhile, the FOMO effect is wearing off quickly.

 

Then the adrenaline runs out, the FOMO goes away and you can say out loud, I've been ripped off!

 

A sinking feeling fills you with emptiness as you click aimlessly for a solution that doesn't exist.

 

How to avoid NFT scams

Given the way, NFTs work, protecting yourself from scams and scammers is your best bet.

 

See also: How content creators are shaping the future of NFTs

If you don't want to lose your Crypto Art NFT investments and want to protect your money, I strongly recommend that you learn and educate yourself about space before investing. Read about NFT Art and the mechanics that make them a reality and read about Crypto Art NFT cybersecurity.

 

That stated I've made a very basic framework that will assist you to guard yourself against NFT fraud, regardless of your level of tech knowledge or cybersecurity knowledge.

 

Control your inflow:

Unless you are a public figure or a person serving the public in a company, there is absolutely no need to allow all emails to reach your inbox. Allow only emails from selected addresses to show up in your inbox, the rest can go to spam, which you can check once a week.

This will put you in a frame of mind that you are surfing spam in your own time and therefore you are more present, sceptical, rational, and much less likely to fall into the trap of a fraudulent email.

 

Limit your exposure:

The more exposure you have the more blows you will have to deal with and learn to avoid. This is particularly true when you join multiple Discord servers from many Crypto Art NFT projects.

 

Avoid joining too many Discord communities or Telegram groups where you are not active. Some bots will flood you with messages about the launch or launch taking place now!

 

If you are part of a certain Discord community where you like to stay active, please disable the ability for people to send you direct messages in the privacy section to prevent bots from reaching you and playing in your FOMO.

 

Check and recheck:

Check the core elements of the project. The web page, social media ledgers, institute team social media ledgers, and online existence.

 

When you receive a message in your inbox, on Discord, or the Telegram! Don't act on it and whatever you do, DON'T CLICK ON THE LINK! Alternatively, go to Google, browse the project's authority web page, and examine the originating team's social presence to see if there is a special promotion, discount or sale before proceeding with your search on the official website.

 

While the message might say a secret release, just for you, and that you shouldn't tell anyone, it's highly unlikely that any Crypto Art NFT project will launch a release without putting the information on their website, and spreading the news across all social media.

For new projects, you must send payment to the project's smart contract address. You can verify this address using a blockchain explorer.

 

A blockchain explorer is software that extracts various data from a blockchain, organizes it, and presents the data in a searchable format.

 

NFTs are simply bits of code that reside on a blockchain. So you can use a blockchain explorer to discover all the information you need about a Crypto Art NFT project.

 

Some of the top explorers are Blockchain.info, blockchair.com, Etherscan.io.

 

If you're not sure whether a particular project is a scam or not, contact the community and ask. The Crypto Art NFT community is often very helpful. Only after analyzing this entire process mentioned, then yes, you will be sure that your purchase will be completed successfully.   

View further here NFT News.