If some of the internet buzz around NFTs feels shady to you, you’re not alone. Internet searches for “NFT scams” hit all-time highs in early February, according to Google Trends.
You could be forgiven for thinking that nonfungible tokens — which allow internet users to purchase and own internet-based content, such as images and videos — are a scam altogether. A studio audience recently sat in confused silence as Jimmy Fallon and Paris Hilton compared “Bored Ape” NFTs. That the pair of digital monkey images collectively fetched north of half a million dollars of the celebs’ money may have you thinking that this whole thing is detached from reality.
But plenty of investors are seeing the value in NFTs. Some want to own rare digital collectibles. Others are fans of the art they’re purchasing. Still others believe that the technology that allows internet users to track the provenance and ownership of things online is the future of the internet. Investing experts caution against investing much more than you’re willing to lose in NFTs, since they’re speculative investments whose value is determined almost entirely by investor demand.
No matter your reason for getting into NFTs, you need to remember one thing: Where there is money to be made, fraudsters abound. “People come in and think it’s like Disney World — no one is bad and everyone is cool,” says Franck Bossi of NFT Watchdog. “But there are many scams, and people forget to look at important specifics.”
Here’s how experts…
