QUADRIGA INITIATIVE
CRYPTO WATCHDOG & FRAUD RECOVERY PLATFORM
A COMMUNITY-BASED, NOT-FOR-PROFIT
$104 000 USD
MAY 2022
GLOBAL
GM STUDIOS
DESCRIPTION OF EVENTS
GM Studios is "a web3 Animation Studio developing next-gen brands and blockchain solutions for the Metaverse. We deliver the perfect blend between creative design, art and technology." They "creat[e] experiences through storytelling, technology and community. [They] are here to create, build and shape the Metaverse one GM at a time." Some of their projecs include "Metaverse Music Festival · M.U.G.S. (made under great stress) · Random Ravers · UNTZ King · ROLAND Lifestyle · The Raverse · Pride at Decentraland."
Twitter user savino910 is an experienced web developer who grew up with VCRs in the classroom. His "scientist is a red zombie pirate" and he "love[s] Twitter because [he] can put a thunder emoji to replace the "S" on [his] name and [it] looks pretty awesome!" After his "first free mint" on April 11th, for the "[f]irst time in [his] life [winning] a giveaway in [a] discord server" on April 29th, and an unsuccessful bid on May 2nd, on May 9th, 2022, he finally "got [him]self a gift called TAOS. If you know, you know it. :)". He was "soo bullish on @RENGA_inc[ he'd] probably buy another one[!]"
On "[S]unday", May 22nd, 2022, an exciting announcement came "from an admin of [the] official Discord of [the Random Ravers] project."
"Hello GM. The time has finally come! Introducing the GM's Gold Pass. We will be releasing 100 copies of our gold passes listed below, including being entered into our Bored Ape Giveaway. (BAYC #9994)"
"GM Gold Pass Utilities: Entered into our Bored Ape giveaway (Only Gold pass holders can enter). Free Monthly Airdrops. Whitelist for future GM mints. You can mint the GM Gold Pass here for free. (This is the only official link. Don't click any others in DMs or elsewhere.)"
But alas, it was all a lie.
"Official Discord of @gmstudiosgg has been hacked! I lost my TAOS because of the fraudulent website somebody posted on their channel! Be aware guys!"
"I made a very expansive mistake today. I totally trusted someone/something without checking. This is [a] very big mistake that costed me the most expansive NFT that I bought so far." He "lost 1.108 eth[ereum] because of [approving his wallet on the] scam website posted from an admin of [the] official Discord of [the Random Ravers] project."
"Bro here the DRAMA OF THE DAY!! GM Studios discord has been hacked and 1 [scammer] stole 50ETH!! I personally lost my TAOS in this because they used the admin account to point to a fake mint website. Can you help in anyways? This deserve a lesson.."
He followed up to report the theft on OpenSea.
"Guys if anyone knows who could be this guy here. He has my TAOS I'd like to talk to him for an agreement. YOU CAN ALL SEE THAT THIS ITEM HE OWN IS BLOCKED AND REPORTED FOR SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY. YES, THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S MINE AND GOT STOLEN." "It's reported and blocked because it was stolen from me! Help me to get in touch with him."
Random community Twitterers like @EmilyRo72507991 stepped forward to "assist" and "support".
"Hello this is GM Studios [s]upport. Do you require any assistance? [K]indly do well to direct message us to help to resolve your issue. Direct-message us now. Thank you."
"And look all those messages of people saying that you can message another scam on [Instagram] or whatever[. I]t's really sad." "What really concern[s] me is that even if something bad happened like loosing something valuable, that doesn't stop other [scammers from] try[ing] to scam you AGAIN!!"
Finally, 4 hours after the incident, the GM Studios team made an announcement.
"Our Discord was hacked. If your wallet was compromised, [direct message] us on [T]witter and we will solve this."
savino910 "sent [them] a [direct message] please help! My Renga NFT got stolen!" He reported the next day being "in contact with @gmstudiosgg[. H]opefully they will help." It appears he was ultimately able to recover half the lost value from their team.
"G[ood ]m[orning] guys! News from the stolen NFT situation: I had an ["ask me anything"] yesterday with the team of @gmstudiosgg[. T]hey're taking responsibilities and willing to pay back 50% of the stolen assets. Hoping that we can move on from this bad situation and learn something. Thanks guys for your support."
With everything sorted out, all record of the incident are now scrubbed from GM Studios' Twitter.
GM Studios is a web3 animation studio producing various NFTs, including a project called Random Ravers. savino910 invested in the TAOS NFT, and was excited about purchasing more NFTs in the future when he came across an exciting announcement in the Discord channel for a free mint. After giving the website full access to his wallet, he was surprised to find all of his NFTs taken. In the end, it appears that GM Studios reimbursed half of the loss. There is no evidence that any other recovery as possible or that further investigation happened.
HOW COULD THIS HAVE BEEN PREVENTED?
Always be extremely careful about which permissions are given up in every interaction. Store the majority of assets fully offline when not being used. Check any giveaways against multiple sources. No legitimate platform will make an announcement in only one location.
@savino910 Twitter (Aug 23)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 6)
https://opensea.io/bsellop (Jan 7)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 7)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 7)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 7)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 7)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 7)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 7)
@gmstudiosgg Twitter (Jan 7)
@gmstudiosgg Twitter (Jan 7)
GM Studios (Jan 7)
https://www.linkedin.com/company/gmstudios (Jan 7)
Contact — GM Studios (Jan 7)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 7)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 7)
@EmilyRo72507991 Twitter (Jan 7)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 7)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 7)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 7)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 8)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 8)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 8)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 8)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 8)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 8)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 8)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 8)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 8)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 8)
@savino910 Twitter (Jan 8)
Ethereum Price History and Historical Data (Dec 21)
