Free NFT Minting in Web3 Games is Actually a Wallet Theft Trap

Who Gets Targeted

Victims are primarily young players and crypto enthusiasts with insufficient understanding of NFT security, eager for free rare avatars or props, and easily lured by promotional phrases like 'one-click free minting' and 'zero transaction fees.' The phishing page mimics the official game UI, requesting users to connect their wallets and 'authorize the contract to mint NFTs,' when in reality, it grants a malicious contract the authority to transfer all tokens. Typical losses include ETH and other assets in the wallet being swept away all at once, such as one player losing 2,000 ETH and another user losing approximately $30,000 in SOL.

骗局怎么运作

• Attackers post enticing messages such as 'Free NFT Minting' and 'Limited-Time Airdrop' in the official communities or social media of popular Web3 games, attaching forged official website links to lure users into clicking and entering the phishing page.
• The phishing page superficially displays the game's official UI style, requiring users to connect their blockchain wallets (such as MetaMask) and stating in a pop-up window that they need to 'authorize the contract to mint NFTs.'
• Mistaking it for the official game contract, the user clicks to authorize. In reality, they are authorizing a malicious smart contract pre-deployed by the attacker, which possesses the permission to transfer all tokens in the user's wallet.
• Once authorized, the malicious contract immediately calls the wallet.transfer function, transferring mainstream tokens (such as ETH, USDT) and in-game assets held by the user into a cold wallet controlled by the attacker all at once.
• Users only realize it was an authorization vulnerability after discovering their assets have been stolen. However, on-chain transactions are irreversible, and attackers have already laundered or transferred funds to mixing platforms within minutes, making tracking costs extremely high.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Promotions using words like 'free' and 'zero gas fees' combined with a sense of urgency requiring users to click links immediately.
• 🚩 Provided official website link domains with slight variations from the genuine official domain or utilizing URL shortening services.
• 🚩 Requests for users to grant full asset transfer permissions in wallet pop-up windows rather than permissions limited only to minting NFTs.
• 🚩 Failure to provide a formal whitelist contract address or smart contract audit report.
• 🚩 Social media accounts lacking a history of active engagement or posting similar airdrop information in large volumes over a short period.

真实案例

• In August 2024, a player in a Chinese NFT community clicked a 'Free Mint Avatar' button, authorized an NFT avatar contract valued at roughly a 6-figure RMB sum, and subsequently had 2,000 ETH stolen from their wallet, later disclosing the scam on a forum (Source 1).
• In March 2025, a fake $FLOWER airdrop page appeared on the Solana chain. After users authorized transactions through the page, approximately $30,000 worth of SOL was transferred into a hacker's wallet all at once. The FBI subsequently issued an advisory regarding such phishing techniques (Source 2).
• In November 2023, a Pudgy Penguins impersonation project posted a free mint link on Discord. After victims authorized it, approximately $12,000 worth of NFTs and tokens in their wallets were stolen. This case was analyzed in detail in a Tencent Cloud security research report (Source 3).

Official Stance

• On September 15, 2024, the China Internet Financial Risk Warning Center released the 'Guidelines for Preventing Web3 Game Phishing Scams,' advising users not to blindly trust free mint authorizations.
• On February 28, 2025, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a 'Virtual Asset Phishing Attack Alert,' outlining multiple similar cases and providing preventive essentials.
• On March 10, 2026, the Cybersecurity Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security of China, in conjunction with the Blockchain Regulatory Center, issued the 'Blockchain Wallet Authorization Risk Alert,' explicitly pointing out that full-authority authorizations for unknown contracts will lead to asset theft.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Before clicking authorization on any Web3 game page, check blockchain explorers to see if the contract address has been publicly disclosed or audited by official sources.
• ✅ Use principle-of-least-privilege authorizations such as 'one-time only' or 'limited to required assets' exclusively within official wallet plugins, and strictly prohibit full-authority permissions.
• ✅ Verify the authenticity of airdrops or free mint events through official channels (such as official websites and verified Twitter accounts), and never operate through unfamiliar links.
• ✅ Store primary assets using hardware wallets, avoiding large-value transactions within untrusted dApps.
• ✅ Regularly check the wallet authorization list and revoke unknown or expired contract permissions in a timely manner.