{"id":220929,"date":"2022-02-22T12:40:16","date_gmt":"2022-02-22T12:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/?p=220929"},"modified":"2022-03-22T22:29:24","modified_gmt":"2022-03-22T22:29:24","slug":"user-sues-opensea-for-1m-after-losing-his-bored-ape-nft-in-phishing-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/user-sues-opensea-for-1m-after-losing-his-bored-ape-nft-in-phishing-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"User sues OpenSea for $1M+ after losing his Bored Ape NFT in phishing attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texas resident Timothy McKimmy has officially filed a lawsuit for at least $1 million against non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea. In the complaint, he accused the platform of \u201cnegligence\u201d that resulted in him losing an \u201cunquestionably\u201d valuable Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the <\/span>lawsuit<\/span><\/a> filed on February 18 in the Southern District of Texas, McKimmy allegedly was one of the victims in the recent series of phishing attacks. As <\/span>CryptoSlate <\/span><\/i>reported, some OpenSea users have recently lost <\/span>millions of dollars worth of NFTs<\/span><\/a> to unknown malicious actor(s).<\/span><\/p>\n

Namely, the attacker <\/span>launched a special smart contract<\/span><\/a> on Ethereum over a month prior to the actual theft and then sent several users emails urging them to move their NFTs from an old OpenSea smart contract to a new one. This new false contract, in turn, initiated signing of open sell orders which the attacker collected.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a victim of this scheme, McKimmy lost his Bored Ape #3475 NFT, the complaint alleged, which is currently being <\/span>auctioned off<\/span><\/a> for at least 225 Ethereum (roughly $568,000) by an unknown owner.<\/span><\/p>\n

Phishing in OpenSea<\/h2>\n

In his complaint, McKimmy alleged that OpenSea has breached the fiduciary duty it owed to him \u201cby failing to implement policies and procedures to prevent, identify, detect, respond to, mitigate, contain, and\/or correct security violations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Because of this, the plaintiff claimed that on or around February 7 his Bored Ape NFT was stolen due to a \u201csecurity vulnerability\u201d on OpenSea, allowing \u201can outside party to illegally enter through OpenSea\u2019s code and access [McKimmy\u2019s] NFT wallet\u201d to list and sell the token.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, \u201cOpenSea\u2019s vulnerabilities allowed others to enter through its code and force the listing of an NFT\u201d and that was \u201cthrough no fault of the [NFT] owner,\u201d McKimmy claimed.<\/span><\/p>\n

He added that attempts to \u201cresolve the issue numerous times with\u201d OpenSea remained unsuccessful as the platform \u201cfailed to reverse the transaction, return the Bored Ape, and\/or provide any adequate remedy,\u201d which led to him filing the lawsuit.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Bored
Bored Ape #3475<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now, the plaintiff wants OpenSea to reimburse him \u201cthe valuation of the Bored Ape, and\/or monetary damages over $1,000,000,\u201d the complaint stated.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPlaintiff\u2019s Bored Ape has significant value; this is unquestionable. For example, <\/span>Justin Bieber purchased Bored Ape #3001 for 500 ETH, or $1.3 million at the time of the transaction. Bieber\u2019s Bored Ape has a rarity score of only 53.66 and a rarity rank of #9777,\u201d according to the complaint.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, \u201cPlaintiff\u2019s Bored Ape has a rarity score of 138.52 and a rarity rank of #1392. It is in the top 14% rarity, and it is significantly rarer than Bieber\u2019s. Thus, Plaintiff\u2019s Bored Ape\u2019s value is <\/span>arguably in the millions of dollars and growing as each day passes,\u201d the document claimed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The attack no longer seems to be active, but we are continuing to monitor. We have not seen activity from the attacker\u2019s wallet in >36 hours. We\u2019re continuing to investigate.<\/p>\n

— OpenSea (@opensea) February 22, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n