Hacker finds a way to publish unverified NFTs through Magic Eden
A Twitter user was disgruntled after he bought an ABC NFT from Magic Eden, later finding out that it was a fake, although it had been listed among verified collections.
Verification issue at Magic Eden?
The Twitter user who fell victim to the con, dubbed Trollidan, said he had been looking for an ABC NFT on the Magic Eden marketplace. Once an ABC popped up for 20 SOL ($5.23), he purchased it, assuming someone had posted it by mistake. A quick check on the Magic Eden platform showed that the NFT was not officially verified, but listed on the marketplace.
The loss of funds was probably due to the marketplace’s need for proper checks and balances. Some traders like doppelNFTs rushed onto the thread to share their experiences. The trader claims they had also fallen victim to the scam, in which they paid 30 SOL ($7.85).
Another victim claimed that he snipped one for 10 SOL ($2.62), which ended up being faked even though it was posted on the official ME ABC collection.
A verified NFT on Magic Eden has to pass through a scrutinizing review process where the marketplace reviews the necessary documentation from the creator and confirms it’s legit. Scammers frequently create fake NFTs by copying well-known NFT markets like Magic Eden. Even a seasoned NFT buyer can be duped by these listings, which often seem almost identical to the originals, into shelling out a lot of money for a bogus piece of art with no real value.
How did this happen?
The Non-fungible term in NFTs means that the token is unique and can’t be duplicated. An attacker may, for instance, produce a new NFT with the identical creator array as an ABC NFT (including the verified bit)! However, this new NFT would only be useful if it can be traded on NFT marketplaces.
Many Solana marketplaces, including Magic Eden, CoralCube, and SolanartNFT, use the creator array to determine whether an NFT is a part of a collection. However, the Token Metadata Standard has been disapproved as it is semi-verifying some NFTs.
Magic Eden, in response, thanked the community for informing them about the sale of fake abracadabra (ABC) NFTs. Magic Eden promised to add more verification layers advancing stringent guidelines on NFTs verification. They also urged victims of the fake sales to contact them but did not specify whether they would get refunds.
Is Magic Eden Safe?
The Solana-based NFT marketplace Magic Eden was suspected of having been hacked earlier today. The platform’s users were shocked to see adult sexual material on a collection’s page. Additionally, pictures from the well-known comedy “The Big Bang Theory” were displayed in place of the viewers’ preferred NFTs.
Many people raised the alarm about a potential network hack. Magic Eden posted a tweet confirming that it was a mistake made by a third-party cache.
