A collector of non-fungible tokens has taken legal action against OpenSea, a well-known NFT marketplace: the user accused the company of having blocked his account for over three monthsafter falling victim to a scam.
OpenSea user Robbie Acres explained to Cointelegraph that his NFTs had been stolen via a phishing attack. He immediately reported the incident to OpenSea, but the company took too long to respond:
“It took them over 48 hours to respond. By then the stolen assets had been sold, at a much lower price than their original value so they could be disposed of quickly.”
Also, OpenSea blocked his account to prevent further damage. However, Acres explains, this was not the solution he requested:
“OpenSea held my assets hostage for over three months, despite my repeated requests to unlock the account.”
The investor believes that the company should be held responsible for the losses incurred. Acres estimates that, due to OpenSea’s negligence, it would lost about $500,000:
“I can’t tell if their action was willful, or just ineptitude. What is certain is that OpenSea has caused me a significant financial loss, as I am an active investor in the Web3 community.”
Enrico Schaefer, the attorney who leads Acres’ legal team, said that this is by no means an isolated case:
“I have spoken to and represent several people who have had their NFTs stolen or accounts compromised on OpenSea. In some cases, OpenSea admits the mistake and compensates the account owner. In others, it simply ignores the problem. (… )
OpenSea needs to focus on its customers, the people who buy and sell NFTs. Don’t focus solely on growth, investor dollars and gross receipts.”
Regarding Acres’ issues, an OpenSea spokesperson told Cointelegraph:
“The theft in question occurred outside of OpenSea, and the items were sold before we became aware of the theft. As soon as we were notified and discovered the theft, we disabled the items; furthermore, the account of the user has now been unlocked.”
The platform emphasized that it has invested in tools and personnel to prevent and detect theft, as well as block the resale of stolen items:
“Theft is one of the largest and most challenging ecosystem problems to solve, because it happens on many different digital surfaces and through many unique (and legitimate) communication channels.”
