An owner of a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT recently shared a harrowing experience, narrowly avoiding a potential disaster when approached by an imposter posing as a Forbes journalist. On November 27, a prominent NFT collector known as “Crumz” recounted the encounter with the scammer who claimed to be Robert LaFanco, an actual Forbes editor.
The imposter initiated contact via direct message, proposing an interview for an upcoming article on BAYC.
During the interview, the scammer cunningly convinced Crumz to grant access for recording purposes, leading him to click a button. Despite certain warning signs, such as the use of a non-premium Zoom account and a request to use a separate recorder bot, Crumz complied. The situation took a nefarious turn when, towards the end of the interview, the imposter asked Crumz to utter something akin to his ape, suggesting a banana.
In retrospect, Crumz realized that this request was a diversionary tactic, designed to distract him while the scammer attempted to gain control of his computer to pilfer his valuable assets. Instead of following the ruse, Crumz resisted fetching the suggested banana, opting to remain vigilant at his computer. True to his suspicions, the scammers attempted to take control of his screen.
Acting swiftly, Crumz muted his screen, preventing any video transmission, and observed as the attackers tried to manipulate his screen, intercepting them when they targeted “delegate.cash.”
Adding urgency to the situation, a Rollbit partner known as borowik.eth issued a warning to his sizable Twitter following on November 27, identifying the imposter account as Robert LaFranco, who claimed to be a Forbes assistant managing editor. The cautionary message emphasized the scammer’s intent to deceive individuals during interviews and gain unauthorized access to their PCs to abscond with valuable NFTs.
Another BAYC community member, Laura Rod, also reported falling victim to the sham Forbes editor. This incident adds to a series of scams outlined by blockchain security firm Slowmist earlier in November, where victims lost cryptocurrency assets to counterfeit journalists. The common modus operandi involved scheduling an interview, guiding victims to join a Telegram interview, conducting a two-hour session, and then providing a malicious link for publication consent.
In a related incident from October, a user on Friend.tech fell prey to a fake Bloomberg journalist, tricked into clicking a link under the guise of a “consent form,” resulting in the depletion of their Friend.tech account. Notably, industry observers have highlighted the trend of scammers on the X platform often utilizing BAYC profile pictures, underscoring the need for heightened vigilance within the community.