Darkcryptomoon Ethereum NFT Con Man

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Revision as of 14:17, 10 March 2023 by Azoundria (talk | contribs) (→‎The Reality: Lots of different revisions to the article. Starting to go through further Reddit posts. Still need details on the NFTs which were taken.)
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MetaMask

Darkcryptomoon is a father and user of multiple cryptocurrencies, heavily interested in NFTs. On November 13th, 2021, his wallet was emptied.

About MetaMask

MetaMask was developed in 2016 by ConsenSys Labs[1]. MetaMask describes itself as a "the leading self-custodial wallet. The safe and simple way to access blockchain applications and web3. Trusted by millions of users worldwide."[2] The application is available and widely used as a mobile application and browser extension[3].

"Available as a browser extension and as a mobile app, MetaMask equips you with a key vault, secure login, token wallet, and token exchange—everything you need to manage your digital assets."

About Darkcryptomoon

Darkcryptomoon is a father[4] who has worked for 10 years for the state[5] as an attorney[4]. His political views are largely democratic[6][7]. As of December 23rd, 2021, he is still repaying his student loans[5][8] and also has a mortgage on his house[8]. He feels he's been defrauded by both his hospital[4] and his government[5]. He has been a Reddit user since at least February 20th, 2019[9].

He has used both Coinbase[10] and GateHub[11]. He still uses is heavily critical of the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange[10] due to a lack of support and an incident where he lost his seed phrase[12][13][14]. He has investments in Bitcoin[15], Ethereum[15][16], GoodDollars[17], Algorand[18], Solana[19][20], and Flow[20][21][22], though he is critical of Ethereum[20][23][24][25][26]. He is a very strong and persistent advocate and supporter of NFTs[27][28][29][30][31][32]. He has investments in NBA Top Shot[33][34][35][36] as his first NFT since late January 2021[37]. He has since purchased others[38] including PaniniNFT[39][40], a gambling ape NFT[41], and a crypto dad NFT[16][41]. He doesn't believe that NFTs make sense as a tool for money laundering[42].

It's a way to prove ownership of a digital item. For instance, if you want to flex how much money you own, you may buy a Rolex or really expensive Nikes. But how do you do that in the metaverse? You buy a RTFKT pair of shoes (now part of Nike) or a BAYC/Crypto Punk. Another example would be some clubs and casinos in the MV require you to own one of their NFTs to get in and participate. Why not just require a regular old username and password? Because the NFTs accomplish the same thing, but with much more transparency (being on the Blockchain). Another example would be traditional basketball cards vs digital basketball cards (NFTs). Some people will never want to switch to a digital version if the collectable, because they need to be able to feel the card...similar to traditional books vs ebooks.

It seems like you are saying why even have the Blockchain involved, when you need a third party site to even really decipher the code anyways, since you have to trust the third party site..... I guess I'd say that since it's on the Blockchain, there are so many of these third party sites all saying the same thing, that it would have to be a massive conspiracy to somehow get all of them to unify in a single scam perfectly, which is extremely unlikely (similar to how hacking a Blockchain would be extremely difficult AFAIUI). Or maybe I'm just not understanding what exactly you're saying.... It just all seems like code... Online banking...online stock trading....online anything...it's all code... NFTs/blockchains just add more transparency, right? Is there a much better option that provides the same transparency we should be using?



"There's zero punishments for scammers and hackers... These decentralized chains incentivize thieves to come up with more and more hacks, because they get off with your money scot free. Sad stuff."


He stole 0.97 ETH from me. Looks to just be sitting there. He also stole some NFTs valued at about $2,300.

I have the Twitter account, website, email he used also, if needed. And yeah, there would be a reward if the funds were recovered, but I understand it's probably not enough to make it worthwhile for anyone. Thought I'd try anyways."

This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.

The background of the exchange platform, service, or individuals involved, as it would have been seen or understood at the time of the events.

Include:

  • Known history of when and how the service was started.
  • What problems does the company or service claim to solve?
  • What marketing materials were used by the firm or business?
  • Audits performed, and excerpts that may have been included.
  • Business registration documents shown (fake or legitimate).
  • How were people recruited to participate?
  • Public warnings and announcements prior to the event.

Don't Include:

  • Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
  • Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.

There could be more than one section here. If the same platform is involved with multiple incidents, then it can be linked to a main article page.

The Reality

Self-custody of funds comes with increased responsibility and risks, including the risk of potentially losing all funds if the private keys are not kept secure.

What Happened

While the exact mechanism by which Darkcryptomoon's wallet was breached is unknown, we can determine from the blockchain that the theft of the Ethereum did not happen through a smart contract[43]. Combined with the fact that Darkcryptomoon also reports multiple NFTs have gone missing from the same incident[44], the most likely cause of the exploit is an exposure of the seed phrase or private keys. Darkcryptomoon reports his MetaMask wallet was hacked[45] and there is no indication that a hardware wallet was used, which allows for the possibility of both malware or entering the seed phrase into a fake wallet.

Key Event Timeline - Darkcryptomoon Ethereum NFT Con Man
Date Event Description
October 15th, 2021 8:02:11 AM MDT Thief Creates Wallet Initially The reported thief first transfers funds to their wallet[46].
October 27th, 2021 4:01:55 AM MDT Funds Transferred From Binance It appears that the thief has withdrawn a small quantity of funds from Binance, suggesting that they my have an account with KYC information[47].
November 2nd, 2021 3:28:26 PM MDT First Remitano Transfer The thief moves some funds (not related to this specific theft) into their Remitano account[48][49].
November 5th, 2021 9:57:24 PM MST Assisting drdrew450 Darkcryptomoon assists another Reddit user drdrew450, who accidentally overpaid for an NFT[50].
November 13th, 2021 9:38:16 AM MST Theft Transaction A blockchain transaction transfers 0.969052970191778852 ETH to the reported thief address[43][51].
November 17th, 2021 1:18:34 AM MST Reddit Bounty Offer Posted Darkcryptomoon posts details of the theft on Reddit, and additionally offers a "reward if the funds were recovered". It does not appear that anyone responded to his, post except another scammer[44].
November 24th, 2021 2:28:55 PM MST Funds Moved To Another Wallet The thief moves the ethereum from the main wallet to their Remitano wallet[49][52].
November 26th, 2021 4:01:23 PM MST Final Transfer To Remitano The thief moves the funds into a Remitano service wallet address[49][53].
December 31st, 2021 10:13:36 PM MST Speaking Out Against Ethereum Darkcryptomoon responds to a post about Solana with a heavy bash against Ethereum. In this post, he reveals that the NFTs taken were all ethereum-based[54].
March 3rd, 2022 6:44:14 PM MST Response To Scammer Darkcryptomoon responds to the fraudster[55].
March 5th, 2022 5:41:56 PM MST Warning To Billyfudpucker Darkcryptomoon responds to Billyfudpucker's post to warn him about not responding to any private messages from individuals as they are likely also scammers[56].
July 16th, 2022 11:05:34 PM MDT Response To Another Theft Case Darkcryptomoon describes the thefts as "a major con of decentralization. Endless new scams. Endless new exploits. Endless new hacks."[57]

Total Amount Lost

Darkcryptomoon described his losses as 0.97 ETH in addition to $2,300 worth of NFTs[44]. A blockchain transfer for 0.969052970191778852 ETH to the reported thief's address was located[43].

He stole 0.97 ETH from me. Looks to just be sitting there. He also stole some NFTs valued at about $2,300.

The closing market price for ethereum on November 13th, 2021 was $4,651.46 USD[58]. This approximates the value of the ethereum taken at $4,507.51.

The NFTs are described by Darkcryptomoon as ethereum-based[54] with a value of "about $2,300"[44].

Combining this with the reported $2,300 in NFTs, the total amount lost has been estimated at $7,000 USD.

Immediate Reactions

Very little is known about the immediate reaction of Darkcryptomoon. He reports having filed a report with the FBI through their "IC3" interface[56], however the specific timing of that is presently unknown.

"My MM got hacked. Filed a report with the FBI, never heard anything back. It's a hackers/scammers paradise right now...no one can do anything as far as I found.... Just a bunch of people saying they want to help, but trying to scam me for even more of my money."

Darkcryptomoon posted to Reddit 4 days after the theft transaction, offering a bounty to help trace the funds[44]. He reports receiving no legitimate offers to help, and multiple scams from people claiming they want to assist him[56].

Ultimate Outcome

Since the incident, Darkcryptomoon has repeatedly spoken out about Ethereum and decentralization in general[20][25][24][26][54]. He has expressed preference for centralized chains[25][59] and Proof of Stake[60].

Sorry OP.... Many many people have had the same thing happen. It's a major con of decentralization. Endless new scams. Endless new exploits. Endless new hacks. Because there's no way to punish these evil people they will just come up with more ways to steal people's money and there's nothing anyone can do except know all the different ways to protect yourself at all times no matter the new ones that come out. Ethereum is becoming a wasteland.

Ethereum has some major problems that people know about, but choosing to not pay heed to. 1) The ridiculous gas fees. 2) The complete lack of any deterrents or punishments for scammers. There's absolutely nothing anyone can do if a scammer steals all of your ETH/Eth-based NFTs... So there's a big incentive to keep coming up with more elaborate and believable scams. It's not just giving up your seed phrase anymore, and the scams will constantly become more numerous and nefarious. Ethereum will also play a part in the crypto community, but when more adoption happens, I think people will ultimately prefer a more centralized chain that can offer more support and customer service, along with near zero fees, instead of upwards of $4,000 in fees you have with peak gas wars on Ethereum. Ethereum badly needs to be dethroned, and Solana is a top contender (along with Flow and Cardano IMO).

Darkcryptomoon has spent some time reaching out and assisting other fraud victims, warning them not to respond to private messages.

Anyone DMing you offering to help or telling you to contact "this person" is trying to scam you again. There is not going to be anyone that can actually help you, I know from first hand experience. File a report with the FBI (https://www.ic3.gov/) and try and track the movements of your stolen crypto...when they move it to an exchange,.contact the exchange and have the crypto frozen (most likely they will ignore you).

There does not appear to have been any response to their bounty thread[44][56]. Darkcryptomoon reports that there was no response from the FBI[56].

Total Amount Recovered

As of July 17th, 2022, it does not appear that any recovery has been obtained[57].

Ongoing Developments

There does not appear to be any investigation nor recovery in progress[57].

Individual Prevention Policies

No specific policies for individual prevention have yet been identified in this case.

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

Platform Prevention Policies

Policies for platforms to take to prevent this situation have not yet been selected in this case.

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

Regulatory Prevention Policies

No specific regulatory policies have yet been identified in this case.

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

References

  1. ↑ New Internet: Blockchain Technology Could Help Us Take Back Our Data from Facebook, Google and Amazon - NewsWeek (Mar 7, 2023)
  2. ↑ MetaMask Homepage (Mar 6, 2022)
  3. ↑ What is MetaMask? - YouTube (Mar 6, 2022)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Darkcryptomoon - "The hospital where we went for our child's delivery" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Darkcryptomoon - "I just want what was promised (I worked for the state, at lower wages, for ten years" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  6. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "Republicans want to use violence to end fair and free elections" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  7. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "I know you can't do it on the job" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Darkcryptomoon - "I love how my student loans have a 7% interest rate" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  9. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - Who to keep? For diehards only - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Darkcryptomoon - "I don't think there is anyway to talk to an actual person" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  11. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "Is Gatehub really charging me" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  12. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "I didn't realize my Coinbase Wallet wasn't linked to my coinbase.com account" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  13. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "I lost access to my funds as well...similar situation." - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  14. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "I assume the $1,600 is gone for good." - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Darkcryptomoon - "As someone who has been using BTC and ETH occasionally" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Darkcryptomoon - 1 ETH Giveaway - CryptoDadsNFT - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  17. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "I've been getting my daily (well, when I remember to do so) GoodDollars" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  18. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "I was able to turn my XRP into Algorand" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  19. ↑ Darkcryptomoon Reply To "If You Hold Solana, Tell Me Why" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Darkcryptomoon - "Ethereum is killing itself" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  21. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "Flow, for instance, is less decentralized, but such a better chain, IMO." - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  22. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "Give me blockchains like Flow any day" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  23. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "Ethereum is the worst." - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Darkcryptomoon - "Ethereum has failed to scale." - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Darkcryptomoon - "This is the problem with decentralized chains" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Darkcryptomoon - "On Ethereum, that $74 would cost $342, after gas fees." - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  27. ↑ Carkcryptomoon Response To "I don't get the hype behind NFTs and I think they are idiotic." - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  28. ↑ Darkcryptomoon Response To "$500 to $160,000 with NFT" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  29. ↑ Darkcryptomoon Response to "NFT for Christmas" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  30. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "Copying my previous reply to someone else...." - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  31. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "I'm not sure this is the argument against NFTs people think it is." - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  32. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "Alright numbskull.... I'm taking the time" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  33. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "Series 2 is the best bang for most people." - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  34. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "I was buying $2 moments the week before" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  35. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "If someone says this isn't meant to be an investment, they are straight up lying" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  36. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "It comes into play for the rare and legendary packs" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  37. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "Marcus Smart (15k) for $4 in late January." - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  38. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "I'm involved with a variety of them (nothing expensive)" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  39. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "I just bought an Iverson and Duncan for $10 each" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  40. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "I was able to get some of the last few drops" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Darkcryptomoon - "I own a gambling ape NFT which gets me into free online poker tournaments every other week with cash prizes." - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  42. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "No one launders money through NFTs...it's the worst possible way" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 43.2 Specific Theft Transaction For 0.969 ETH - Etherscan (Mar 7, 2023)
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 44.2 44.3 44.4 44.5 Darkcryptomoon - Anyone help get my ETH back? : WhiteHatHackers - Reddit (Mar 6, 2023)
  45. ↑ Darkcryptomoon comments on [deleted by user] (Mar 6, 2023)
  46. ↑ Initial Transfer Into Thief's Wallet - Etherscan (Mar 9, 2023)
  47. ↑ Thief Transfers Funds From Binance To Their Wallet - Etherscan (Mar 9, 2023)
  48. ↑ First Remitano Deposit By Thief - Etherscan (Mar 9, 2023)
  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 49.2 Second wallet of the thief which is transferring to Remitano - Etherscan (Mar 9, 2023)
  50. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "Sent a small gift. Hang in there" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  51. ↑ Reported Attacker's Wallet Transactions - 0x9A4d2F9E0A2BBBaDA7161fB5A053a6BDDcD06897 - Etherscan (Mar 9, 2023)
  52. ↑ Further Transfer of Funds To Another Wallet (0xA7F1) - Etherscan (Mar 9, 2023)
  53. ↑ Final Transfer From Thief To Remitano - Etherscan (Mar 9, 2023)
  54. ↑ 54.0 54.1 54.2 Darkcryptomoon - "There's absolutely nothing anyone can do if a scammer steals all of your ETH/Eth-based NFTs..." - Reddit (Mar 10, 2023)
  55. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "I hope you get what you deserve." - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 56.2 56.3 56.4 Darkcryptomoon - "There is not going to be anyone that can actually help you, I know from first hand experience." - Reddit (Mar 6, 2023)
  57. ↑ 57.0 57.1 57.2 Darkcryptomoon - "Endless new scams. Endless new exploits. Endless new hacks." - Reddit (Mar 6, 2023)
  58. ↑ Ethereum Historic Market Price - CoinMarketCap (Mar 7, 2023)
  59. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "Decentralization has it's benefits... But it'll be a scammers wasteland eventually (at the rate it's going)." - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
  60. ↑ Darkcryptomoon - "Proof of Stake. It's the better way" - Reddit (Mar 7, 2023)
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