A fake Pixelmon NFT website tries to fool crypto folks into getting infected with the dangerous malware that the threat actors behind it are spreading.
Once the virus makes it to its victims, it proceeds with the password-stealing scheme, attempting to run off with the login credentials of those who got duped. It then loots its crypto wallets, emptying the digital assets that it carries.
The massive world of non-fungible tokens (NFT) took the world by storm with countless drops, garnering skyrocketing prices. In fact, as per a news story by Rolling Stone, the sales of NFTs in 2022 alone have already reached a staggering $4 million. And it continues to swell.
However, it also has been home to phishing scams, wherein scammers pretend to be a legit collection of NFTs, stealing thousands of dollars from crypto wallet owners.
Fake Pixelmon NFT
This time around, the latest fake NFT website is pretending to be the massive Pixelmon project.
According to a recent report by Bleeping Computer, the bad actors are using attractive incentives to lure victims to their fake Pixelmon NFT site. The scammers promise online folks to receive free collectibles and tokens straight from the project.
It is worth noting that Pixelmon draws a huge following on its official socials, such as Discord and Twitter, which flaunts 25,000 and 200,000, respectively.
As such, it appears that the scammers are now capitalizing on its sheer popularity among the crypto folks out there.
According to CNET, the developers of Pixelmon initially released a total number of 10,000 NFTs way back in February.
The epic drop is supposed to fund the ambitious project that seeks to be the Pokemon of NFT games. And the first release did not disappoint its devs.
The massive collection brought a whopping $70 million to the project, which CNET says are figures typically seen on successful console games for the Xbox and PlayStation.
Fake Pixelmon NFT: How it is Stealing Passwords, Cryptos
All that said, the latest fake NFT scam is trying to entice thousands of Pixelmon fans to fall for their crypto-stealing scheme.
Bleeping Computer noted that the fake site (pixelmon.pw) looks almost entirely like the real deal (pixelmon.club). However, what sets the replica apart is its additional demo game, which installs a password-stealing virus.
The malware, once installed, connects to a Telegram channel to connect to its server.
From there, the Vidar malware runs off with passwords from various apps like browsers, which it uses to steal money from the crypto wallet of its victims.
