04
Feb
2023

An MMA Fighter Was Duped Into Shilling NFTs By Popular Youtuber

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TL:DR 

  • CoffeeZilla duped a popular MMA fighter into shilling NFTs for $1000 and exposed the problem with influencers
  • Little Shapes fake
  • The NFT space is still vulnerable to false projects and scams.

CoffeeZilla exposing crypto scammers

CoffeeZilla, a well-known YouTuber and crypto investigator, has unveiled another disturbing case of fraud in the NFT market. American mixed martial artist Dillon Danis was caught promoting a fake NFT project to his fans, without disclosing that he was paid $1,000 for the advertisement.

The NFT market experienced a surge in popularity in 2021 and 2022 with support from many high-profile celebrities. However, this increased attention has also brought to light instances where some celebrities have unknowingly promoted unvetted projects to their fans. Unfortunately, this trend continues in 2023 as the markets recover.

 

The Ruse

Coffeezilla has claimed that he tricked Bellator MMA fighter Dillon Danis into promoting a fake NFT project. According to Coffeezilla, he and his team paid Danis $1,000 to post the link but Danis failed to disclose it as an advertisement. In Danis’ now-deleted tweet, he wrote “Check this out! SourzNFT Candies are Moonbound.” which Coffeezilla says spells out the word “scam.” The link given to Danis by Coffeezilla’s team gave the illusion of allowing users to mint, but instead took them to a page that showed Danis’ past crypto projects and the money he was paid for promoting them.

Coffeezilla, who has made a name for himself as the top YouTube investigator in regards to various crypto scams from influencers, has previously revealed what he found about Logan Paul’s CryptoZoo project, which led to Paul apologizing. Coffeezilla says that the NFT project Danis was promoting was fake and if users attempted to “mint it”, they would be taken to a website that showed all of Danis’ past scams. At the time of writing, Danis has yet to comment on the situation.

CoffeeZilla’s ruse involved Danis tweeting out a digital image with a website URL that, according to the YouTuber, “literally spells out S.C.A.M.” A further investigation by showed that the website was only created on February 1st, 2023, a crucial red flag in determining the credibility of a new project. The website’s FAQ section also mentions that no investors would be able to get their hands on the “Sourz” NFTs, which was a critical detail overlooked by Danis.

In June 2021, another similar incident involving Kim Kardashian was flagged by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC claimed that Kardashian violated the anti-touting provision of the Securities Act by promoting the EthereumMax (EMAX) crypto token without disclosing the $250,000 she received for the promotion.

However, CoffeeZilla took quick action and notified users who fell for the fake NFT project. When users click the “Mint Sourz” button, they are redirected to a website that warns them about the potential scam. The incident serves as a powerful reminder for influencers and investors to thoroughly research projects before promoting or investing in them.

Little Shapes NFT

Another project, Little Shapes NFT, was launched in November 2021 with the intention of shining a light on large-scale NFT bot network scams on Twitter. The project, founded by the pseudonymous Atto, was marketed as an upcoming avatar-style project with 4,444 NFTs that would allow owners to interact and change the artwork in real-time. “I needed a story that sells to make sure no one would ignore a story that hurts,” Atto explained when discussing his motivation behind launching the NFT project.

Little Shapes NFT, the social experiment that aimed to shed light on NFT botnet scams on Twitter, has come to an end. The founder of Little Shapes, who goes by the pseudonym Atto, revealed that the project was a performance art designed to draw attention to the widespread manipulation of the NFT market. In a 158-page document, the Little Shapes team detailed how a network of influencers and alpha groups have used Twitter botnets to drain over $200 million from the NFT ecosystem over the past year.

The Little Shapes NFT team found that low-level NFT projects would create artificial hype and legitimacy through Twitter botnets. These projects would then attract real investors, who would ultimately be rug-pulled and the people behind the projects would make millions. One of the main avenues for NFTs projects to utilize botnets is Dmister, a company that sells social media engagement for around $100 per 1,000 likes, retweets, and replies.

In an interview with BuzzFeed News, Atto spoke about his frustration with the NFT space, which he believes is ranked completely by social capital and fake Twitter engagement where nothing is real. The Little Shapes NFT team even used Dmister to promote Little Shapes NFT as an example of how botnets can manipulate the NFT market.

Previously, Little Shapes was portrayed as an upcoming avatar-style project with 4,444 NFTs that utilized a software engine to allow owners to interact and change the form of their token’s associated artwork in real time. The Little Shapes NFT project may have come to an end, but the information and insights it has provided will continue to influence the NFT community for years to come.

Ok so now what?

Moving forward, it is important for the NFT community to be more vigilant and to do their due diligence before investing in any NFT projects. This will help prevent botnets and other fraudulent activities from causing harm to the ecosystem and allow the NFT market to continue to grow and mature in a sustainable manner.

With the information and insights provided by CoffeeZilla and Little Shapes NFT, the NFT community can now take steps to ensure a safer and more transparent market. It is clear that the NFT space is still in its early stages and there is much work to be done to eliminate fraudulent activities and promote a healthier ecosystem. However, the NFT community can take comfort in the knowledge that projects like Little Shapes NFT are working to protect the industry and promote a more transparent and secure future for NFTs.

The NFT market is still in its early stages, and it’s essential for investors and influencers to be cautious and do their own research before promoting or investing in a project. The work of individuals like CoffeeZilla is crucial in exposing frauds and scams in the crypto world and helps to keep the industry safe for all.

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