[{"category":{"name":"Trending News","exported_url":"trending-news"},"id":"46e2c9c8-98f9-4cd0-9b1d-d386e85c8a71","updated_at":"2023-06-01T03:40:54.760835+00:00","account":{"firstName":"Akash","lastName":"Kashyap"},"description":"The Pixel Penguins NFT venture, supposedly established by an artist grappling with cancer, has been unveiled as a fraudulent scheme utilizing pilfered artwork.","sapo":"The purportedly cancer-stricken artist behind the Pixel Penguins NFT project has been revealed as a scammer who used stolen artwork. ","title":"Pixel Penguins NFT Project Exposed: Cancer Scam Unveiled with Stolen Art","content":"

The individual behind the Pixel Penguins NFT scam managed to amass a sum exceeding $100,000 through their fraudulent scheme before promptly deactivating their Twitter account.

The Phenomenon of Pixel Penguins NFTs

In a Twitter thread dated May 30th, crypto influencer Andrew Wang shed light on the journey of self-proclaimed pixel artist Hopeexist1, who claimed to have been fighting eye cancer while actively creating digital art for the community.

Encouraging his community, Wang appealed to them to support the artist by purchasing her artwork, thereby helping to cover her hospital expenses. He further expressed:

“I hear a lot about how web3 isn’t what it used to be, and I’m often guilty of being a complainer more than anything. Truth is web3 is what we want it to be, and for one, the artists here haven’t stopped creating. We don’t have to choose them but we can’t pretend they don’t exist.”

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The thread, along with several others, quickly garnered sympathy and caught the attention of the wider community, leading to generous donations towards the cause.

The surge in publicity propelled the collection to a swift sell-out and prominent trending status on OpenSea. Nevertheless, as the community delved deeper into the matter, it came to light that the NFTs were comprised of stolen artwork and the individual involved had fabricated claims of battling cancer.

Scammer Profited Over $100K

In a Twitter thread on May 31st, blockchain investigator ZachXBT revealed that the Pixel Penguin contract contained 61.686 ETH, which had a value surpassing $117,000.

Additionally, ZachXBT disclosed that the scammer transferred a total of 63.5 ETH, obtained through the fraudulent scheme, to two newly created addresses associated with the OKX cryptocurrency exchange.

Following the incident, the scammer deactivated her Twitter account, resulting in a steep decline in the floor price of the collection. The floor price plummeted by 86%, dropping from its highest point of 0.075 ETH to a mere 0.004 ETH on the OpenSea platform. Notably, Pixel Penguins garnered significant attention with a total of 6,582 sales and an overall volume of 216 ETH, as reported by data from the NFT marketplace.

In addition, Wang expressed his apologies for promoting the collection, acknowledging that he had believed it to be genuine at the time.

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Pixel Penguins NFT Project Exposed: Cancer Scam Unveiled with Stolen Art

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