OpenSea Fake ConeHeads Collection

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OpenSea Marketplace

A warning was posted on Reddit about fake Cone Head NFTs being sold on OpenSea, a decentralized marketplace for NFTs. The original post alerted users to the presence of fraudulent NFT listings that imitated the legitimate Cone Head NFTs. The fake listings lacked the blue checkmark next to the collection name, which is a sign of a verified collection. The community members in the comments section reported the fake listings and shared tips on how to identify genuine NFTs. They mentioned that legitimate Cone Head NFTs should have a "Reddit" label in the name and a blue/white icon next to it, indicating it's from the "Imagination station x reddit collection." A discussion ensued emphasizing the importance of reporting bad actors, staying safe, and being cautious when purchasing NFTs. Users shared their experiences of almost falling for scams and thanked the original poster for raising awareness.

About Cone NFTs

TBD

Cone Head NFTs On OpenSea:

Real Cone Head NFT:

This series was created by Reddit user Chipperdoodle as a part of the Collectible Avatars Creator Program. You can check out the creator's profile on Reddit. Collectible Avatars are limited-edition avatars from Reddit that provide owners with unique benefits on the Reddit platform. The Creator Collection was made by independent creators in partnership with Reddit. When you purchase a Collectible Avatar, you become the owner of it. This means you can keep it, trade it, sell it, or use it on Reddit as your avatar, where Collectible Avatar owners get a special profile treatment that makes them stand out.

About OpenSea

TBD

The Reality

This was an unverified listing without the typical blue checkmark.

Scammers will often create fake NFT listings on OpenSea. Transactions on the blockchain are generally irreversible.

What Happened

A fake collection of Cone Head NFTs was found on OpenSea and discussed on Reddit.

Key Event Timeline - OpenSea Fake ConeHeads Collection

Date	Event	Description
September 18th, 2022 2:40:58 PM MDT	Reddit Thread	A Reddit post was submitted by Reddit user _echnaton which has a screenshot of a fake Cone Head NFT listing, as viewed on their smartphone. The original post alerted users to the presence of fraudulent NFT listings that imitated the legitimate Cone NFTs. The fake listings lacked the blue checkmark next to the collection name, which is a sign of a verified collection.

Technical Details

Real Cone NFT:

Advice From OpenSea:

Total Amount Lost

The total amount lost is unknown. It is unclear whether anyone purchased NFTs from the fraudulent collection.

Immediate Reactions

TBD

Post On Reddit

A Reddit post was submitted by Reddit user _echnaton which has a screenshot of a fake Cone Head NFT listing, as viewed on their smartphone.

Community Reactions

The community members in the comments section reported the fake listings and shared tips on how to identify genuine NFTs. They mentioned that legitimate Cone NFTs should have a "reddit" label in the name and a blue/white icon next to it, indicating it's from the "Imagination station x reddit collection." The discussion emphasized the importance of reporting bad actors, staying safe, and being cautious when purchasing NFTs. Users shared their experiences of almost falling for scams and thanked the original poster for raising awareness about the issue.

Just reported it, everyone report! Thanks

Thank you so much for sharing a wealth of knowledge, we need to report all those bad actors if you catch one . Please be safe !

this is an important post. I spotted a fake reddit avatar like a week ago and did report it, but I was alarmed because I almost clicked buy. The only reason I did not buy that (drip squad) was because it did not have the characteristics which caused me to look closer. But, the cones and other populare series don't have anything but a number. So, the way I prevent accidental fakes now is write the name of the NFT series and the word reddit like "kid rexie reddit" and the search on opensea populates the list where you can tell all the results in the series are legit. I don't know how else to explain that, but you will know it when you see it. Once you get to the first legit item you can then scroll down and click more from this collection or whatever at the bottom... - and if the NFT you are looking at is not in the series then it's a fake.

Ultimate Outcome

The fraudulent listing was removed. TBD

Total Amount Recovered

There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.

Ongoing Developments

TBD

Individual Prevention Policies

Individuals need to educate themselves on how to spot fake listings, and always be on the look out for them. It doesn't take long to double check against a few official sites prior to any purchase, and in this case the fake listing did not even have an official blue checkmark.

Every approval on Web3 is an opportunity to lose all of the funds present in your wallet. Take the time to review the transaction in full. Fully check over the balance, permissions, and entire address which you are interacting with. Do not trust that your clipboard or any website front-end is guaranteed to provide an accurate address or transaction status. Always perform a test transaction prior to the first high-value transaction in any session.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as an individual, check our Prevention Policies for Individuals guide.

Platform Prevention Policies

A key part of the success of these frauds is lack of education by users on how to spot fake NFT listings. This should be standard training for anyone looking to purchase NFTs. In the event of users losing funds, it's important to be able to assist.

Never take for granted the limited knowledge of users of your service and their tendency to skip past provided information. It is recommended to design a simple tutorial and quiz for new users which explains the basics of seed phrases, strong password generation, secure two-factor authentication, common fraud schemes, how ponzi schemes work, as well as other risks which are unique to the cryptocurrency space. This tutorial and quiz should ensure their understanding and be a standard part of the sign-up or download process which is difficult or impossible to skip.

Work with other industry platforms to set up a multi-signature wallet with private keys held separately by delegate signatories from seven prominent platforms and services within the industry. Establish requirements for contributions by all platforms and services, designed to be affordable for small platforms yet large enough to cover anticipated breach events. Any breach event can be brought forth by a member platform or a petition of 100 signatures for consideration by the delegate signatories. A vote of 4 or more delegate signatures is required to release any funds, which could partially or fully restore lost funds based on their assessment.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as a financial service, check our Prevention Policies for Platforms guide.

Regulatory Prevention Policies

A key part of the success of these frauds is lack of education by users on how to spot fake NFT listings. This should be standard training for anyone looking to purchase NFTs. In the event of users losing funds, it's important to be able to assist.

Create a standard tutorial and quiz for all new cryptocurrency participants, which is required to be completed once per participant. This tutorial and quiz should cover the basics of proper seed phrase protection, strong password generation, secure two-factor authentication, common fraud schemes, how to detect and guard against phishing attacks, how ponzi schemes work, as well as other risks which are unique to the cryptocurrency space.

Set up a multi-signature wallet with private keys held separately by delegate signatories from seven prominent platforms and services within the industry. Establish requirements for contributions by all platforms and services within the country, designed to be affordable for small platforms yet large enough to cover anticipated breach events. Any breach event can be brought forth by a member platform or a petition of 100 signatures for consideration by the delegate signatories. A vote of 4 or more delegate signatures is required to release any funds, which could partially or fully restore lost funds based on their assessment.

For the full list of regulatory policies that can prevent loss, check our Prevention Policies for Regulators guide.