A Banksy fan buys “fake” NFT for more than $ 335,000 after alleged website hacking

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Collector buys “fake” Banksy NFT for more than $ 335,000 after alleged website hacking

arts

Updated September 2, 2021

Written by Oscar Holland, CNNMegan C. Hills, CNN

An art collector says he paid more than $ 335,000 for a “fake” Banksy, only for the alleged scammer to return the money.
The sale came after the graffiti artist’s homepage briefly directed users to an online auction offering what appeared to be their first NFT or non-fungible token.
The page removed since then, which appeared on Banksy’s official site on Tuesday, showed a pixelated image of a character smoking with sunglasses and a hat. It was linked to an auction hosted on the OpenSea online marketplace, where the artwork (shown at the top) was listed as a “Great Redistribution of the Climate Change Disaster” by a user named gaakmann, a reference to a nickname previously used by the anonymous artist.

Believing he was a real Banksy, a UK-based collector – who negotiates digital collecting under the username Pranksy and describes himself as a “big fan” of the street artist, he offer the equivalent of more than $ 335,500 to the Ethereum cryptocurrency. But when his bid was accepted immediately, ending the days of the auction earlier than expected, he was assured “99%” that he had become a victim of fraud.

“As soon as it was accepted (the offer) I felt it was fake / pirated,” the collector said in an email.

But in a seemingly bizarre twist, the seller returned all the money, except the transaction commission, shortly after the sale. The records stored in the Ethereum blockchain, a digital book of all transactions involving cryptocurrency, appear to support the collector’s version of events.

The collector, who suggested Banksy’s website had been hacked, said on Twitter that the scam could have been the work of an “ethical hacker who proved a point.”

Banksy attacks again! The artist confirms that he is behind the works of “spraycation” art in British coastal cities

“Maybe (the seller was) scared by the amount of media coverage the hack received,” he later told CNN. “I’m not really sure, but I’m very grateful to have returned most of my Ethereum.”

Banksy representatives did not explain how the image or hyperlink appeared on their official website and did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the graffiti artist told the BBC that “any Banksy NFT auction is not affiliated with the artist in any form or form”.

Some social media users have accused the collector of orchestrating the incident through advertising, although he said that “he has no desire or need to do anything like this to cover it up”.

“I aspire to be able to work with artists like Banksy in the future and (help them) learn more about NFT,” he added. “Hacking your website and buying me an NFT wouldn’t be the best way to do it!”

Banksy has recently produced a number of works of art in British coastal cities. Credit: Justin Tallis / AFP / Getty Images

NFTs have grown in recent months, offering collectors a way to “own” and sell digital assets as if they were physical. Renowned artists such as Damien Hirst, Daniel Arsham and John Gerrard have begun to create and sell works through NFT, with large auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s now dedicating millions of dollars to record sales.

How NFTs are fueling a boom in digital art

Currently, OpenSea lists hundreds of NFTs depicting or resembling works by Banksy, though the elusive artist has never suggested that he sell digital art. The platform did not respond to CNN’s request to comment on the incident or whether it plans to amortize the transaction rate of the deceived collector.

Despite nearly losing hundreds of thousands of dollars, the collector defended OpenSea and said he should have waited for Banksy’s “official verification” before bidding. “I hope to have some of his real work someday,” he added.

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