Coffeezilla, a YouTuber and crypto investigator, discovered that mixed martial artist Dillon Danis sponsored a fraudulent NFT project without disclosing that he received $1,000 for the promotion.
Several A-list celebrities aided in the development of the nonfungible token (NFT) craze in 2021 and 2022. However, several of them advertised unproven initiatives to their admirers without knowing whether or not they were genuine or fraudulent. As markets improve in 2023, the practice will remain prevalent.
We just tricked Dillon Danis into promoting a fake NFT project. We paid him $1,000 to post, he didn't disclose it was an #AD, and posted copy that literally spells out S.C.A.M.
— Coffeezilla (@coffeebreak_YT) February 3, 2023pic.twitter.com/SVo2SCoN9q
According to Coffeezilla, in the campaign Danis tweeted a digital image with a website URL that “actually spells out S.C.A.M.” Additional analysis conducted by Cointelegraph revealed that the website was created on February 1, 2023. This is a crucial piece of information to seek out while determining the authenticity of new enterprises.
In addition, the website’s FAQ states that investors cannot acquire “Sourz” NFTs. This is vital information that the MMA fighter was unaware of.
In June 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) observed that Kim Kardashian engaged in a similar practice when she informed her 330 million Instagram followers about the EthereumMax (EMAX) cryptocurrency token. The SEC asserts that Kardashian violated the Securities Act’s prohibition on advertising by failing to disclose the $250,000 she received for the campaign.
However, Coffeezilla ensured that the users who were deceived by the phony NFT project were immediately informed. When a user selects the “Mint Sourz” button, as shown in the above screenshot, they are redirected to a webpage that informs them of a possible hoax.
Coffeezilla hopes to post a follow-up video with additional information, but this serves as a reminder for influencers and investors to conduct their own research before to promoting or investing in a project.
The project Little Shapes NFT, which began in November 2021, was a “social experiment” designed to draw attention to large-scale NFT bot network scams on Twitter, according to Atto, the initiative’s founder.
Thanks for participating everyone – Little Shapes was a social experiment by @BALLZNFT_
— Little Shapes NFT (BALLZ) (@LittleShapesNFT) February 1, 2023
The exposé was real though. Here’s how a ring of influencers and founders drained $200,000,000+ out of the ecosystem over 274 projects: https://t.co/BKMSqPVwzw
(158 Pages) pic.twitter.com/gB5v21NCRo
“I needed a story that sells to make sure no one would ignore a story that hurts,” said Atto, explaining why he began the NFT initiative.
Little Shapes was promoted as a forthcoming avatar-style project with 4,444 NFTs that would allow owners to interact with and modify the artwork in real-time.
Content Source: cointelegraph.com
