NFT collector sues OpenSea marketplace
Robbie Acres, an NFT collector, is suing Opensea for locking his account after he was defrauded of his two digital assets. However, this is just one of the reasons for the lawsuit. The OpenSea user claims the platform failed to protect his digital assets, causing enormous losses during significant market fluctuations.
OpenSea’s late response resulted in user losses
On July 12th, 2022, Robbie discovered that two high-value digital assets had been snatched from his wallet. Knowing that time was of the essence, he promptly flagged and reported his missing NFTs. He emailed OpenSea’s support team, who responded via an automatic response. The automated response confirmed that his complaint had been registered and allocated him ticket #631600.
Despite Robbie’s swift move, OpenSea responded 48 hours later. By this time, the swindler had resold the NFTs at a discounted value. Distraught and believing OpenSea bore responsibility for the incident, Robbie sought compensation. In response, OpenSea froze his account without his request or permission. A situation he believes has caused him further losses.
OpenSea’s action, arguably to prevent further losses, saw Robbie “lose” his remaining 58 NFTs. In what lasted for three months, he could neither trade his assets nor transfer them to another wallet, which Robbie alleges cost him about $500,000 in losses. Prior to the incident, he had successfully traded over 722 NFTs.
In response to the issue, OpenSea notes that the reported theft occurred before they were made aware of the crime. Subsequently, the user’s account was unlocked following the deactivation of the digital assets. The platform added that to forbid the resale of stolen items on its platform, it invested in personnel and machinery for security.
OpenSea’s stolen item policy to combat NFT theft
OpenSea launched a stolen item policy in June last year to combat NFT theft. The marketplace added security features to shield its users. The new functionality conceals NFT transfers that are automatically marked as suspicious. As such, only genuine transactions are visible in the marketplace.
In the vein of preventing theft in the first place, OpenSea vowed to cut down on malicious links shared on its platform. The platform’s new theft prevention tool will stop malicious links from showing up on collection listings by proactively scanning URLs. Attackers use these connections by deceiving users into signing over control of their NFT wallet to drain cash or move digital assets.
According to several sources, increasing tensions between the NFT collector and the OpenSea support crew recently prompted the former to initiate legal action against the latter. Robbie has hired Traverse Legal, a leading law firm, to handle his case.
Robbie’s legal team, led by Enrico Schaefer, claims this is not an isolated case. The lawyer acknowledges that numerous clients have silently struggled with the same issue. According to him, OpenSea rarely assumes responsibility for its mistakes and compensates the user. In any case, it should concentrate on its clients, the individuals purchasing and selling NFTs. Rather than be blinded by growth, investment funds, and gross revenue.
