I bought £10,000 worth of digital land in metaverse game The Sandbox but it was stolen and sold for £23,000
One TECH fan spent £10,000 on a piece of virtual land – only to have it stolen from under his nose.
The fuming gamer has revealed how he spends money to buy digital assets in the mobile game The Sandbox.
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Taking to Reddit, user infiniti711 told how he believed his account had been hacked and the land where his precious computer was made was stolen.
And tracking transactions using the unique IDs included on every crypto-based transaction, he noticed crooks are now selling it.
Looks like hackers are stealing stolen digital land for £23,000.
His story is another cautionary tale from the burgeoning online economy, with constant warnings about the risks these online transactions pose.
Sandbox is an online world that allows users to monetize their creations as part of the multiplayer metaverse.
Like a combination of The Sims and Minecraft, the platform allows users to buy virtual areas of land for development and then sell them for cryptocurrency.
The plots are represented as NFTs – unique monetizing digital assets – based on the Ethereum blockchain – providing the foundation for the in-game economy and physical cash exchange.
It also allows users to invite their friends and participate in virtual activities together like attending concerts or parties.
Several celebrities have confirmed the game – including Snopp Dogg and Deadmau5.
However, infiniti71, who appears to be from Canada, found himself burned on December 3 – realized about 11 hours later on December 4.
He noticed his land contract had been moved out of his online wallet for £0.
“I never agreed to this transfer, I have no intention of selling this land and I will keep it for a long time, at least a few more years,” the Reddit user wrote.
“There’s no way I’d pass it on to anyone, especially at $0.”
He continued: “I tracked down, my land since it was stolen to 3 other accounts, now sold for 40k. [CAD]
“I have not shared my account details with anyone, I have not synced my wallet with any other software or wallet.
“I don’t know how this could have happened without the hacker’s password because I don’t share this information with anyone, I wrote it down on paper and hid it.”
After some help from other users on the /r/cryptocurrency subreddit – the user realized his computer was infected with malware.
He said he believes he downloaded the virus while trying to get a new ticket for The Sandbox.
The user accidentally visited The Sandbox’s homepage clone website – downloading the .exe file turned out to be malware.
The virus saw hackers break into his accounts and steal his land.
He said: “There are many lessons learned, and thanks to those who have reached out to me.
Risks of buying with cryptocurrencies
Investing and buying with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is very risky.
Their value is volatile and the City’s watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, has warned investors to be prepared to lose all of their money.
Investing in cryptocurrencies is not a guaranteed way to make money.
You should also think carefully about making purchases with cryptocurrency.
For example, Bitcoin has experienced dramatic price swings in recent months, and prices can change almost hourly.
Bitcoin price was at $40,258 on January 9, according to Coindesk, but fell to $34,214 just three days later.
That’s a 15% discount.
These price fluctuations are risky for a business because you can sell an item with Bitcoin at one price and the value can drop shortly after, leaving you with less money from a purchase.
Similarly, the Bitcoin price has increased by more than 21% since the start of this week, so it can be difficult for buyers to get an accurate idea of the price of an item if its value changes on a daily basis.
“I hope Sandbox will do something to take over that stolen land, but I don’t have much hope.
“However, I hope many crypto users have learned some valuable tips on how to secure your digital wallet and digital assets, get a USB validator and a hardware wallet.”
Founded by Sebastian Borget and Arthur Madrid, Sandbox models itself as a “community driven platform where creators can monetize voxel ASSETs and blockchain gaming experiences”.
It uses the SAND token, which runs on the Ethereum blockchain.
The supply of SAND is up to 3 trillion, according to the cryptocurrency.
There is also an element of LAND, which the cryptocurrency describes as part of the super world.
Although this is owned by the player, the LAND will always be limited to 166,464.
The price of SAND is currently $4.39 at the time of writing, down about 50% from the high of $8.40 in November.
It comes amid a broader crypto crash as Bitcoin – the most popular currency – collapses raising concerns about “death cross“.
A death cross is when short-term growth falls below the long-term average – triggering a massive sell-off.
https://www.the-sun.com/tech/4438340/digital-land-sandbox-metaverse-stolen/ I bought £10,000 worth of digital land in metaverse game The Sandbox but it was stolen and sold for £23,000
