NFT scams are not uncommon on social media platforms like X. High-profile accounts on X, previously known as Twitter, being hacked also isn’t unheard of.
However, it’s unusual to see an ESPN reporter with millions of followers fall victim to a scammer trying to deceive users of one of the most popular NFT projects into granting access to their crypto wallets.
On Saturday evening, ESPN Senior NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski’s account on X shared a post that advertised a “free NFT pack” for NBA Top Shot users who linked their crypto wallets.
“NBA Top Shot, the popular NFT platform, is now supporting the Ethereum blockchain,” posted Wojnarowski’s @wojespn account to his over 6.3 million followers. “As a celebration, a complimentary NFT pack is up for grabs for all users, while supplies last.” The post garnered hundreds of thousands of views and received numerous retweets and likes.
The link within the post directed users to the URL “nbatopshot dot org,” where they were asked to connect their crypto wallet to claim the supposed “free NFT pack.”
However, the giveaway was fake for those who clicked on the link. The official domain for NBA Top Shot is “nbatopshot dot com,” and not “dot org.” It was Wojnarowski’s X account that was compromised.
The legitimate NBA Top Shot account issued a warning about the scam around an hour after the initial misleading post.
“There is NO Free Airdrop happening on NBA Top Shot at this time,” posted the @NBATopShot account. “Please be cautious and always verify links. The only authentic NBA Top Shot site is https://nbatopshot.com. Thank you.”
An airdrop is a common marketing technique in the crypto industry where users are rewarded with tokens or NFTs for investing in a project or linking their crypto wallets to a platform. However, scammers often exploit this method to siphon funds or assets from users’ wallets once granted permission after linking their accounts.
NBA Top Shot was one of the leading NFT projects during the early 2020s crypto frenzy. The officially licensed project allowed users to purchase, sell, and trade NBA highlights.
Despite its initial success, NBA Top Shot, like other NFTs, has seen a decline in popularity in recent years. According to Cryptoslam.io, in January 2024, the project had only 8,100 unique sellers and 5,550 unique buyers, a significant drop from the market’s peak in March 2021 with almost 400,000 buyers.
Incidents of high-profile accounts being hacked, such as Wojnarowski’s, are increasingly common on X. Previous reports from Mashable have highlighted the rise in hacked accounts of celebrities, like the hacker promoting the “10 MacBooks” scam.
Celebrities such as Anya Taylor-Joy and LeVar Burton have had their X accounts compromised, with hackers attempting to deceive their followers into parting with their cash. Often, these accounts are accessed by hackers posing as official X accounts or employees, who use social engineering to trick users into divulging their account details.
It’s unknown how many users, if any, were duped by the NBA Top Shot NFT air drop scam. Wojnarowski’s post has been taken down since.
Topics Cybersecurity Social Media Twitter Cryptocurrency Sports
