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Category: Frauds → Rug Pulls & Fake ProjectsFraudsRug Pulls & Fake ProjectsNFT Rug PullReading time: 11 minutes
Risk level: High
Target audience: NFT collectors, Discord members

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Meet Tunde

Tunde is a 28-year-old marketing manager who got into NFTs during the 2021 bull run. He owns a few NFTs and follows the space casually. He enjoys the art and the community. One day, a Twitter account called “EvolutionaryApes” appears with slick 3D ape artwork. The art is genuinely good—detailed, expressive, and stylized. The project promises:
  • 10,000 unique apes
  • Metaverse integration (playable characters in an upcoming game)
  • Staking rewards
  • DAO governance
  • Exclusive holder benefits
The mint is ₦5,000 per NFT (about $3 USD at the time). The Discord server grows to 50,000 members overnight. The hype is electric. Tunde thinks: “This looks legit. The art is professional. The roadmap is clear. Let me mint 5 and flip some for profit.”

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What Happened

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Phase 1: Hype (Pre-Mint)

The Discord is full of energy. Daily updates:
  • Art previews
  • Roadmap details
  • Partnerships announced
  • Team bios with LinkedIn profiles
The founder and artist are visible and engaging. People ask about the game, the staking, the DAO. Responses come quickly. Tunde is convinced. On mint day, he prepares ₦25,000 to mint 5 NFTs.

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Phase 2: Mint (Day 1)

The mint goes live on a custom website. Within 4 hours, all 10,000 NFTs are sold. Tunde gets 5 apes. The project raises 50 million Naira (~$30,000+ USD). The community celebrates. Trading begins on OpenSea. Prices fluctuate between 0.05–0.15 ETH, and some rare traits fetch 0.3+ ETH. Tunde flips 2 NFTs for profit and holds 3 for the long term. He’s happy.

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Phase 3: Reality Check (Days 1–14)

Tunde joins the Discord daily and starts noticing:
  1. No updates on the game or staking. The roadmap said “Q4 staking live,” but there’s no code, no beta, no timeline update.
  2. Founder’s engagement drops. After the mint, the founder posts less frequently. When he does, responses are vague.
  3. Questions go unanswered. People ask “When is staking?” “Where’s the game progress?” “Can you show the dev team?” No responses.
  4. The artist disappears. Several holders notice the artist (who was credited and had an Instagram) has started removing ape artwork from their Instagram. Later, when asked directly, the artist replies (in DMs Tunde sees screenshots of):
“I delivered my work. 10,000 images and a teaser video. I’ve been told I’m off the project now.”
The artist was only hired to deliver the images, not to be a long-term team member.
  1. The “partnership” was never real. Someone finds that the “partnership” mentioned in the roadmap was just a Twitter follow exchange, not a business deal.

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Phase 4: Abandonment (Weeks 2–4)

The Discord becomes a ghost town. The official Twitter account posts less. The founder’s account goes dormant. Tunde and other holders try to find the “team” mentioned in the original bios. Reverse image searches show:
  • Founder’s profile photo is from LinkedIn, used without permission.
  • “CTO” photo is from a stock photo site.
  • “Marketing Lead” is completely fabricated.
One particularly sharp holder discovers the project has a GitHub repository listed on the website. It’s been inactive for 2 weeks. The code for “staking” and “game” don’t exist—there’s just some copied boilerplate code. The owner of the repository removes it.

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Phase 5: The Realization

The project was a rug pull. The flow was:
  1. Professional art (hired for cheap or stolen).
  2. Fake team (using stolen photos).
  3. Hype and promises (vague roadmap with high-confidence language).
  4. Mint (take the money).
  5. Disappear (no further development; no utility).
Tunde’s 3 held NFTs are now worth ₦2,000 each on OpenSea (down from ₦30,000 at peak). The floor is collapsing as panic-sellers flood the market. Tunde lost ₦75,000 on the 3 held NFTs. He profited ₦30,000 on the flips, but he’s still down ₦45,000 net. This is a classic NFT rug pull pattern: the creators took the mint revenue and abandoned the project, leaving holders with digital art that has no utility or resale value. Real case studies include Frosties (where two men were arrested) and EvolutionedApes (a real victim story documented in a YouTube video).

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Where the Scammer Won

  • Professional art: Legitimizes the project and attracts collectors. Whether commissioned, stolen, or repurposed, it looks good.
  • Fake team: Using LinkedIn photos lowers the scammer’s legal risk and buys trust.
  • Vague roadmap: “Q4 staking,” “upcoming game,” “DAO governance”—all promises with no accountability.
  • No code or proof-of-concept: While claiming to build a game and staking system, there’s no GitHub, no test version, no developer updates.
  • Post-mint silence: After the mint revenue is captured, the project can be abandoned cheaply.

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What Tunde Could Have Done (Prevention)

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Before Minting

Verify the team: Contact the people listed (via LinkedIn or other means) and ask if they’re really involved in the project. Real team members have verifiable histories.
Ask for proof-of-concept: For a “gaming” NFT project, ask to see a playable demo or at least a code repository. If they can’t show it, it doesn’t exist.
Check the artist: Reverse-image-search the art. If the artist is listed by name, verify their Instagram/portfolio and confirm they’re creating these NFTs.
Review the GitHub: If they claim to be building tech, they should have a public repository with active commits. Check it.
Community red flag: If Discord members asking critical questions are silenced or removed, that’s a sign.

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During and After the Mint

Flip early: Take profits on 2–3 of your NFTs during the immediate post-mint hype. Don’t hold everything.
Track founder activity: If the Discord posts slow down and the roadmap isn’t being updated, assume the project is dead.
Exit when promises aren’t delivered: If staking isn’t live by the promised date, and there’s no explanation, exit.

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Red Flags Checklist

  • Fake team (LinkedIn photos that reverse-image-search to other profiles).
  • Vague roadmap with no specific deliverables or developer updates.
  • No GitHub repo or proof-of-concept for claimed tech.
  • Artist is only credited but not engaged with the community.
  • Questions in Discord go unanswered; critical voices are removed.
  • Founder engagement drops after the mint.
  • Secondary trading shows declining floor price and low volume.

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If You Already Minted

1

Flip Early

Sell during the first 24–48 hours hype to avoid losses.
2

Exit the Community

Leave the Discord and unfollow the Twitter. Stop hoping.
3

Report

The project address to ChainAbuse. The founder’s accounts to OpenSea (for impersonation/fake team).
4

Track the Floor

Monitor the project’s floor price on OpenSea. Once it drops below mint, assume it’s dead.

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How NFT Rug Pulls Work

What happens: Commission or steal professional artwork. Create social media presence. Build community with promises of utility.
What happens: Create fake team bios using stolen LinkedIn photos. Build credibility through false identities.
What happens: Launch mint. Collect all revenue. Celebrate with community.
What happens: Engagement drops. Questions go unanswered. Promised utilities never materialize.
What happens: Team disappears. Social accounts go dormant. Project is abandoned. Holders left with worthless NFTs.

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Real Case Studies

Frosties NFT Rug Pull

$1.1M stolen. Two men arrested for creating fake NFT project, minting, then abandoning it.

EvolutionedApes

Real victim story documented showing how NFT rug pulls work and red flags to watch for.

Liquidity Rug Pull

See how token rug pulls drain liquidity

Frauds Category

Explore all types of rug pulls and fake projects

Check Your Wallet

Verify if addresses are reported as malicious

Report a Scam

Report fraudulent NFT projects

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References

  1. Frosties NFT rug pull: $1.1M stolen; two men arrested
  2. EvolutionedApes victim story and red flags documented on YouTube
  3. OpenSea scam/rug pull reporting guidelines