NFT Collector Who Fell To A Phishing Scam Takes OpenSea To Court

NFT collector Robbie Acres has taken legal action against OpenSea NFT Marketplace for keeping his account locked following a scam. The collector is displeased with the NFT marketplace for not responding to his complaint after he lost his collections to a phishing scam.

However, the collector’s leading counsel claimed Acres’ case isn’t the only one. According to the lawyer, several other OpenSea users faced similar problems, and the platform overlooks some issues.

Robbie Acres said he immediately reported to OpenSea after his NFTs got stolen through a phishing scam. But it took 48 hours for the marketplace to respond, before which the thief sold his assets at a lower value.

Acres added that OpenSea’s counteraction against the hack was locking his account for more than three months. The investor is seeking justice in the marketplace for withholding his assets despite repeated requests to access them. He also claims that OpenSea wanted him to validate himself with a statement before unlocking his account. 

Lawyer Advises OpenSea To Prioritize Customers Over Revenue

Acres wants the marketplace to compensate for the losses he incurred. He claims that OpenSea’s actions caused him significant loss as an active Web3 investor. 

Meanwhile, his attorney, Enrico Schaefer, said Acres isn’t the first to have faced such issues on OpenSea. He claimed that he represented several clients in cases of stolen NFT or compromised accounts on the OpenSea marketplace.

According to the lawyer, OpenSea acknowledges its shortcomings and compensates the customers in some instances but ignores them in others.

In addition, Enrico Schaefer noted that OpenSea should prioritize customers’ satisfaction who trade NFTs on its platform instead of focusing on growth and revenue. 

However, an OpenSea spokesperson said the alleged theft happened outside OpenSea’s platform, and the thief had sold the items before they received notification. Regardless of the circumstances, OpenSea took action by disabling the items and the user’s account when he notified them. He, however, added that OpenSea had unlocked Acres’ account.

The NFT marketplace also said it invested in tools and personnel to prevent such occurrences, detect theft, and block the resale of stolen items on its platform. In their words, theft is the most challenging issue in the crypto ecosystem because it occurs through several unique communication channels across diverse digital surface areas.

Phishing Site Thefts Have Become Prevalent On NFT Marketplaces

On August 11, 2022, OpenSea launched a new stolen item policy to adopt and expand the use of police reports. Some users responded to this via Twitter, claiming that OpenSea did not help them when their NFT got stolen.

Phishing sites are becoming a menace in the crypto atmosphere, including the NFT marketplaces. They make private auction features appear like a login button, beguiling victims to surrender their NFTs unknowingly.

A new hack attack is threatening NFT holders on the OpenSea marketplace. The hack gains access to users’ accounts through a feature on the OpenSea platform, luring them into phishing sites where they lose their items.

Hackers have been able to steal NFTs like magic with a little-known OpenSea feature. It’s the newest hack, and multiple millions in Apes have been lost to it already.

(🧵1/4) pic.twitter.com/fTK20WQrgh

— Harpie (@harpieio) December 22, 2022

The anti-theft project Harpie cautioned NFT holders on OpenSea to be careful of this new hack system. The announcement noted that many users lost millions of dollars in Apes to the hack. 

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