A Collection Transferred Through a Fake Marketplace Listing
A client listed a valuable collection for sale on a legitimate marketplace, then received a direct message posing as marketplace support requesting a verification signature that instead authorized transfer of the full collection.
The Situation
A client listed a valuable collection for sale on a legitimate marketplace, then received a direct message posing as marketplace support requesting a verification signature that instead authorized transfer of the full collection.
The Challenge
Non fungible token transfers behave differently from ordinary token transfers, and several pieces had already been resold to third parties by the time the client discovered the loss.
The Investigation
We traced each individual item's transfer history from the fraudulent signature through subsequent marketplace sales to its current holder.
Findings
The collection was split and resold across two marketplaces within hours, with proceeds converted to Ether and consolidated into a single wallet.
Outcome
A full item by item transfer history was documented for the client's attorney, including the current holder of each piece and the wallet that received sale proceeds.
Lessons
Legitimate marketplace support will never request a wallet signature over direct message. That request is itself the clearest signal of a scam in progress.
Client Wallet
Original holder prior to the fraudulent signature.
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