NFT market gained a lot of attention during the past years, by the advent of this technology many opportunities was created. New assets where created for investment and art enthusiasts found an exciting market for themselves. Unfortunately like many other situations in history, some people decided to make easy money in the market. Scamming, forgery and fraud found their way to the NFT market. Safe NFT investment is a concern and lacking knowledge about how to know if an NFT is original might result in great losses.
The NFT market is mostly a safe place. NFT platforms check the NFT’s authenticity before any transaction and they take every precaution to insure a safe NFT investment for their users. But unfortunately digital scamming is still an issue which happens in many forms, so a double check wouldn’t bother anyone. Imagine that you have stumbled upon a stunning NFT and you can’t wait to have it. But there is question lingering in your mind and bothering you all the time, what if it’s a cleverly discussed forgery?
Even worse imagine that you have bought a magnificent NFT and you can’t wait to show it off. But then something bad happens, a you figure out it was just a scam. Can you imagine how painful it is to blame yourself for trusting too early? If you just check the NFT’s authenticity before any purchase these kind of problems won’t happen to you. For having a safe NFT investment doing some research is the least you can do, so use this article as a guideline for your future transactions.
Blockchain verification
Check the NFT’s authenticity by checking its blockchain verification. Use trustworthy websites like Etherscan or OpenSea to explore the contents of the blockchain. The process of blockchain verification is checking the ownership and the uniqueness of the contents that were uploaded on the blockchain. This is the first step that every NFT investor has to do to check the NFT’s authenticity.
You can also check the transactions history on the blockchain and compare it with the data on different platforms. If you are a code expert you can also check the smart contract by yourself.
Contract address scrutiny
The smart contract is a very important asset that can provide security for NFTs. For a safe NFT investment you need a legitimate contract that can not be hacked or bridged. There is no official statics about the exact amount of losses in NFT market due to hacking because not all of them were reported and different sources report different numbers but the total volume is on the scale of hundreds of million dollars and that means more than 50% of investors lost access to their NFTs.
So when you attempt to check the NFT’s authenticity, one of your main concerns should be checking the smart contracts. The contract address is available in the platform you are using to buy NFTs, you can find it next to the NFT’s ID or in the metadata. When you buy an NFT you should make sure that it has the same contract address as the other pieces in the collection. Then there is the issue of security for the contracts and private keys. When you check the NFT’s authenticity you should be cautious and make sure that the contract is immutable, it means that you should make sure that no third-party user is able to change the contract.
So you need to carefully examine the blockchains safety and then secure the private key and the important information. Even the the great platforms like OpenSea, Lympo and LooksRare suffered losses due to cyber attacks and security bridges and the main reason was data breach or security vulnerability. So for a safe NFT investment you need to be cautious about the contract and private key because carelessness will leave your assets vulnerable.
Best advice in this matter is to educate yourself about contracts and their security but if you lack the information you can check the essential properties of the NFT’s contracts in the related and trustworthy platforms. But keep in mind that no one can assure the safety of your assets more than yourself.
Artist and seller legitimacy
The reputation of artist is so important when you check the NFT’s authenticity. Fake project doesn’t usually have regular engagement in social medias. They prefer private chats with their victims and try not to be exposed to public. If the so called artist that you intend to buy from doesn’t have social media engagement or a track record of creating and selling valuable NFTs its probably fake. Most of the successful and famous artists have a transparent portfolio and they use secure and well-known block chains which improves the chance of a safe NFT investment for their customers.
Another benefit of buying from famous artists is their successful promotion. Stealing something so famous is not even logical because its harder to sell in the NFT market, where everyone knows that art and probably knows that the real owner lost access to the asset. So their fame can protect your investment in its own way.
Be aware of fakes and low qualities
When you check the NFT’s authenticity you should pay attention to the quality of NFTs. Fake artists can’t provide high quality NFTs and their art often have low resolution. They can’t be compared with original NFTs from real and famous artists.
Suspicious pricing
All the artists and creators in the market try to gain more attention and offer higher quality to sell their NFTs for a higher price. When you are searching for NFTs you might find some NFT which have relatively low price compared to other project with same quality and value. Well I hope you can tell its a suspicious matter in a market with such competition.
Then there are some other projects that have unreasonably high prices compared to their actual value. They claim to be highly valuable but when you check the NFT’s authenticity you find that as a false assertion. So for a safe NFT investment its wiser for you to avoid this suspicious NFTs.
Reverse image search
You can upload the image of NFT on the search engine to see the exact date that the file was first uploaded and if any similar image exists across the web. When you check the NFT’s authenticity this is one of the important steps you should take to see if the NFT is original and if the provided information buy the artist is correct.
Community verification
This is an important way to check the NFT’s authenticity. As we said the real and professional artists try to engage the NFT community through every means they have. The value of NFT is mostly evaluated by the size of community and their perspective of the artist and the NFT. When an artist isn’t known in the NFT community, it only means that the artist didn’t want to be seen.
And this Secrecy is suspicious, for a safe NFT investment conduct a through research in the community to see if the artist is known even by a small group of people and ask their comments on the artists work.
Use the NFT aggregator tools
These are online platforms that can help you to check the NFT’s authenticity. They track the fundamental data about an NFT and show the history of transactions that help you make informed decisions about a safe NFT investment.
Stay informed
The final step you should take is to always follow the news. You may come across the new methods of forgery and scamming in the NFT community. following the news about this unfortunate accidents helps you to stay informed and avoid similar situations. For example people who use the NFT platforms regularly know that non of the official platforms ask for they private information or private key in under any circumstances.
But an unexperienced investor who didn’t even hear this on the social media or NFT spaces can fall prey to this scams. So engaging in NFT spaces can rase your awareness about the latest methods of scamming.
Conclusion
To have a safe NFT investment all investors need to check the NFT’s authenticity. There are platforms that can provide investors with services like blockchain verification, evaluating the smart contract, reverse image search and checking the record of transactions. But they wouldn’t be enough to check the NFT’s authenticity, using them is merely the first step. For finding original NFTs people need to research through community to see if the artist is trustworthy and present in the social media.
There are some red flags that tells you to avoid making a deal with the creator. If there is any kind of secrecy or lack of clarity its safe to assume that the artist is a scammer. An original NFT project has a clear road map with no confusing or unclear details. Investors should have an eye for the NFT too, the quality of the artwork is important to check the NFT’s authenticity. Finally the most important step is too stay informed an educate yourself about the different aspects of NFT market.
Knowledge about important subjects like the smart contract and how to evaluate it helps you check the NFT’s authenticity and engaging in NFT spaces informs you about the latest methods of forgery and scamming. Your self knowledge and carefulness is the ultimate protection for insuring a safe NFT investment.
FAQs
1. What are the most common methods for hacking NFTs?
Hacking the computer or device that had access to the wallet or important information, designing phishing platforms and provoking the owners to reveal sensitive data in the social media.
2. Is NFT market a safe place?
As a digital market scamming and hacking NFTs is much easier and more common for professional individuals. The platforms are still new and have many vulnerabilities but being careful and knowledgeable helps investors to have a safe NFT investment.
3. How can I keep my NFTs safe?
Never share your private key or essential information with anyone including your friends and partners in social medias or by email. Keep your information on a highly secured device. Avoid suspicious individuals that claim to be willing to buy your NFT for an unreasonably high price.
