The fact that there is an endless supply of individuals for scammers to con is one of the best things about the cryptocurrency industry.
Despite the fact that a relatively limited number of people are actually putting money in cryptocurrencies, according to Matt Binder (reporter for Mashable and host of the podcasts Doom and Scam Economy).
“These con artists may easily take advantage of them twice because it seems like cryptocurrency investors are always duped. Because they are scammed repeatedly, there is no such thing as “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” Instead, it is literally “Fool me 3,000 times and I’ll keep on getting deceived.”
“That’s kind of the draw, though; if you decide to invest in cryptocurrencies, it’s probably because you hope to become rich quickly. So if you’re one of those cryptocurrency hustlers, you’re going to fall for every apparent fraudulent get-rich-quick scheme.
Seth Green, an actor who last year fell victim to a cryptocurrency fraud after hackers took his Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT, is the example given by Binder.
According to Forbes, which cited certain tokens that trade for over $2 million alone, Bored Ape Yacht Club was described as “one of the most lucrative and successful collections of crypto non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to date” in July. Among the well-known figures who are said to have purchased such items are Steve Aoki, Paris Hilton, and Jimmy Fallon.
So, Seth Green used his Bored Ape to produce a TV series, explains Binder. He used all of this money to create a live action/animated hybrid pilot with actors that prominently features the lead, his Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT. After he finished manufacturing and it was prepared to debut at a cryptocurrency conference, someone conned him out of his Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT, causing him to lose ownership of the NFT and the associated IP rights. Therefore, he was unable to publish the TV pilot he had made without first obtaining the NFT.
Therefore, he already spent six figures on the NFT when he acquired it, and in order to really get this pilot seen, he had to persuade the person who was holding the NFT—who would say they got it from the scammer so they would deny being the person who stole it from him—to return it.
It’s a very amazing scam. In any case, Seth Green had to spend… like half a million for this Bored Ape NFT on top of the cost of actually filming the pilot showcasing that Bored Ape. If the man carrying it was the scammer, well done.
