Carding 3.0: How Metaverses and Web3 Became the New Wild West for Digital Heists

[Professor]

Carding in Metaverses and Web3: NFT Thefts, Crypto Wallet Attacks, and Virtual Land Fraud​

Metaverses (Decentraland, The Sandbox, Roblox as a prototype) and the Web3 ecosystem (NFTs, crypto wallets, decentralized applications - dApps) have created a fundamentally new environment for fraud. This is no longer simply stealing card data from a 2D store interface. These are attacks on the user's digital self, their sovereign assets, and virtual property in environments where law enforcement is powerless and the rules are being made up as they go. Here, carding has evolved into crypto fraud and attacks on digital identity.

1. NFT and Asset Theft: New "Jewelry Shops"​

NFTs aren't just "pictures." They're ownership tokens for unique digital (and sometimes physical) objects, often worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

• Attack vectors:
  • Phishing 2.0 on Twitter/Discord: A classic example. The scammer creates a cloned account of a popular project (e.g., Bored Ape Yacht Club) and announces a "mint" (the release of new NFTs) or an "airdrop." The victim clicks a link to a fake website that asks to "Connect Wallet" to participate. Instead, the website requests the signing of a malicious transaction that transfers rights to all NFTs from the victim's wallet.
  • Marketplace Vulnerability Hacking: Hacking or exploiting bugs on marketplaces like OpenSea, Blur, and LooksRare to change prices, steal listings, or commit outright theft by compromising API keys.
  • Social engineering with "support": Imitating a support representative on the project's Discord server. "Hello, we've noticed a problem with your NFT. To resolve it, send it to this address for verification. We'll return it in 5 minutes." The NFT is gone forever.
  • Flipping via Fake Bids: A scammer lists a spoofed copy of an expensive NFT for sale at a low price, then places a high bid (fake bid) on it through a controlled account. The victim, seeing the high bid, buys the fake, after which the bid is retracted.

2. Cryptocurrency Wallet Attacks: Hacking a Safe, Not a Card​

A crypto wallet (Metamask, Phantom, Trust Wallet) is a digital "me" and a bank all rolled into one. Its compromise is catastrophic.

• Attack vectors:
  • Seed Phrases:12 or 24 words for recovery. Steal through:
    • Phishing: Sites asking to "verify" your wallet.
    • Stealers: Malware that steals files from a computer, including screenshots or text files with a seed phrase.
    • Human negligence: Cloud storage (Google Docs, iCloud), photos on the phone.
  • Malicious Transaction Signing: The most sophisticated attack. A dApp user is asked to sign a seemingly innocuous transaction (e.g., "to access functionality"). In reality, this transaction contains a hidden "infinite approval" to withdraw all tokens of a certain type from the victim's wallet to the attacker's address.
  • SIM card attacks and password resets: If the email address or phone number associated with an exchange account (e.g., Coinbase) is compromised, a password reset can be initiated and funds can be stolen.
  • Fake wallets in app stores: Fraudsters publish fake versions of popular wallets in the App Store/Google Play, which immediately send the seed phrase to the creators after entering it.

3. Virtual Land Fraud​

Virtual land (Lands, Parcels) in metaverses are digital real estate that sells for millions of dollars.

• Attack vectors:
  • Land Sale Scams: Fake metaverse projects are created with a fancy website and land "sale." After raising funds, the project disappears (called a "rug pull").
  • Title Fraud: Selling the same lot to multiple buyers, especially in early or poorly regulated projects.
  • Account theft: Hacking a marketplace account (like OpenSea) and selling someone else's land with the withdrawal of funds.
  • Lease and Development Fraud: Offering "development services" on someone else's land in order to gain access and transfer rights or steal development funds.

4. Unique Risks of Web3 and Metaverses​

• Irreversibility of transactions: There is no chargeback in the blockchain. If NFTs or tokens are stolen, they can only be recovered if the thief returns them.
• Decentralization = no support service. No one to call to restore access or cancel a transaction. The code is law.
• Anonymity (pseudo-): Wallet addresses are anonymous. Catching a thief, unless they've made security mistakes, is virtually impossible.
• Low digital literacy among users: The ecosystem has been flooded with newcomers who lack basic security principles but possess significant resources. They are ideal victims.
• Difficulty for law enforcement: The investigation requires expertise in blockchain analysis, and the jurisdiction is unclear (the project is registered in the Seychelles, the developers are in the US, the victim is in Europe, and the servers are located elsewhere).

Defense in the New World: The Paradigm of Self-Responsibility​

At Web3, you're your own bank and security service. Security comes down to iron discipline:

1. Hardware wallets (Ledger, Trezor): Store private keys on an isolated device. A must-have for any significant amounts.
2. Seed Phrases: Never store them digitally anywhere. Store them only on a physical device (steel plate) in a safe.
3. Check ALL transactions before signing: Look not only at the amount, but also at the contract you're interacting with and any hidden approvals. Use sites like Revoke.cash to revoke old approvals.
4. Rigorous URL and contract verification: Always verify the website address and smart contract address through official channels (Twitter, project Discord).
5. Wallet Separation: Use a separate "hot" wallet with small amounts for interacting with dApps and a "cold" hardware wallet for storing your main savings.

Conclusion: From carding to crypto-robbery​

Carding in metaverses and Web3 represents a quantum leap from money theft to theft of digital identity and sovereign assets. It represents a shift from attacks on payment systems to attacks on core trust protocols (blockchain, smart contracts) and human psychology in a new, uncertain economy.

Fraud is more sophisticated, the consequences are irreversible, and protection falls entirely on the user. This has created a golden age for tech-savvy scammers and a nightmare for newbies.

The future: As regulatory pressure increases (exchange licensing, KYC for large trades) and insurance products for digital assets develop, mass fraud may shift to even darker corners of Web3 — to fully anonymous decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and cross-chain bridges. But the core of the problem remains: in a world where you are your own bank, the cost of a mistake is measured not in chargebacks, but in the complete and irreversible loss of your digital self. The war for virtual assets has only just begun, and its rules are being written in the blood (or rather, the irreversible transfers) of the first settlers.