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Bored Ape Yacht Club Instagram & Discord hacked, resulting in massive NFT scam

Hackers got control of the Bored Ape Istagram and Discord and used it as a scam to drain an alleged millions of dollars out of crypto wallets.

TJ Denzer

April 25, 2022 12:25 PM

The trending craze of NFTs and cryptocurrency may not be at the fever pitch it was previously, but it’s still arguably a wild west market in which bad actors are regularly trying to take advantage. One such incident hit one of the most prominent NFT groups this last weekend. The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT group was hacked on Instagram and Discord and the hackers used the opportunity to scam users out of allegedly millions of dollars in cryptocurrency in NFTs.

The Bored Ape Yacht Club group itself shared word of the hack which had recently occurred on Instagram via its Twitter on April 25, 2022. Reportedly, hackers got control of both the official Bored Ape Instagram and Discord and announced a new minting of NFTs via the highly valued group. However, when users clicked on the link, hackers apparently gained access to connected crypto wallets and drained their contents, leaving many users fleeced of their cryptocurrency and NFT collections.

Throughout the NFT craze, Bored Ape Yacht Club was probably the most recognizable group, but the recent scam draining crypto accounts shows even it wasn't safe from massive scams throughout the NFT and cryptocurrency markets.

This may end up being one of the largest scale cryptocurrency scams to hit the market so far, but its far from the only one. Large-scale platforms like OpenSea and Crypto.com have been the target of multiple phishing scams and exploits aimed at stealing the contents of user wallets and accounts. Play-to-earn gaming platform Axie Infinity’s Ronin Network was also hit by a hacker for around $625 million USD in Ethereum at the end of March.

Bored Ape Yacht Club was certainly one of the most prominent groups in the NFT space, but this recent incident shows it was far from protected from the cyber crime throughout the market. For now, the group has suggested users don’t click on any links regarding new minting, but if the replies are any indication, the damage may already be done. Stay tuned as we continue to follow this story for further updates.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.

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