Influencer loses NFTs worth $27,000 via malware hidden in Google ads

An NFT influencer who uses the alias “NFT God” on Twitter had NFTs worth $27,000 stolen from him. The influencer has alleged that an NFT malware attack emptied his wallet of all of his digital goods. The victim clicked on a sponsored link on Google’s search engine that mimicked an open-source video streaming program that he was originally looking for, and valuable NFTs were stolen from his wallet as a result. The NFT malware attack happened on January 14.

The verified “NFT God” Twitter account, which has over 91,000 followers, many of them from the cryptocurrency industry, commented about the incident and cautioned others about falling for con artists.

“My Twitter was hacked. I pop open the OpenSea bookmark of my ape and there it is. A completely different wallet listed as the owner. I knew at that moment it was all gone. Everything. All my crypto and NFTs ripped from me,” the influencer tweeted.

Bad actors use malware attacks to steal NFTs, data, and more

Cybersecurity company Cyble issued a warning earlier this month about malware that was searching for phishing victims through Google advertisements. The business gave this virus the moniker “Rhadamanthys Stealer.”

“Rhadamanthys stealer spreads by using Google Ads that redirect the user to phishing websites that mimic popular software such as Zoom, AnyDesk, etc. It can also spread via spam email containing an attachment for delivering the malicious payload. The TAs behind this campaign also created a highly convincing phishing webpage impersonating legitimate websites to trick users into downloading the stealer malware The link to these phishing websites spreads through Google ads,” Cyble said in its report. Google is yet to issue a statement related to the claims of the NFT influencer.

This is not the first time Google advertisements have been linked with phishing malware. Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, had previously cautioned cryptocurrency investors about bad actors attempting to reach them via Google in October 2022.

Two apps, Mister Phone Cleaner, and Kylhavy Mobile Security were found to be infected in September by malware known as SharkBot, which was capable of stealing cookies from accounts and avoiding authentication procedures that require user input, such as fingerprints.

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