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ZEC $1,138 Scammers impersonate Tyler Hobbs in fake QQL NFT mint scheme
Fake accounts claimed QQL minting had reopened, reusing details from the 2022 auction, one wallet was reportedly drained.
Key takeaways
- Minting has not reopened. Quit said QQL minting has not reopened, so any post claiming a new public sale is false.
- Figures copy the 2022 sale. The fake offer cited 900 passes at 50 ETH, the same supply and opening price as the original auction.
- One wallet reportedly drained. Quit said he knew of one drained wallet and one saved by Pocket Universe, but the loss is unverified.
What happened
Scammers set up several accounts posing as generative artist Tyler Hobbs and told followers that minting had reopened for QQL, the Ethereum-based generative art project he created with Dandelion Mané. Yuga Labs vice president of blockchain Quit flagged the accounts in an Oct. 20 post on X and urged users not to interact with them.
The fake promotion advertised a Dutch auction of 900 QQL Mint Passes starting at 50 ETH and claimed ties to the original creators. Those numbers match QQL's real launch in September 2022, when 900 passes went on sale at a 50 ETH opening price. The project's official materials list no new auction.
Quit wrote that he was aware of one person whose wallet had been drained and another who avoided the same outcome with help from the Pocket Universe security tool. The reported theft has not been independently verified, and no wallet addresses, transaction hashes or loss estimates were shared.
Why it matters
QQL Mint Passes do not expire, and existing holders can still create official NFTs through the established process. The warning only concerned the false claim of a new public sale, so holders have no reason to rush into a new mint.
The FBI warned in an August 2023 advisory that criminals pose as NFT developers, sometimes with lookalike or hijacked social accounts, and push urgent posts that lead to fake sites where wallet approvals hand control to malicious contracts. Some approvals stay active until the owner revokes them.
QQL's documentation lists the official Mint Pass contract as 0xc73B17179Bf0C59cD5860Bb25247D1D1092c1088 and warns that counterfeit Mint Pass collections exist. Buyers on secondary markets can check that address on Etherscan before buying.
What is still unclear
- Quit's post did not name the fake accounts or include screenshots, and it did not say whether the victim visited a fake website, approved a malicious contract or signed another type of request.
- It remains unclear exactly how the reported attack unfolded, and the loss has not been independently verified.
Questions readers ask
Did QQL minting reopen?
No. Quit wrote that QQL minting has not reopened, and the project's official materials list no new public auction. Existing Mint Pass holders can still create official NFTs through the established process.
How much did the fake QQL mint ask for?
The impersonators promoted 900 QQL Mint Passes with a starting price of 50 ETH, the same supply and opening price as the original 2022 Dutch auction.
Was anyone affected by the fake QQL mint?
Quit said one person's wallet had been drained and another avoided a similar loss with help from Pocket Universe. The reported theft has not been independently verified, and no loss estimate was given.
How can I check a QQL Mint Pass is real?
QQL's documentation lists the official Mint Pass contract as 0xc73B17179Bf0C59cD5860Bb25247D1D1092c1088 and warns that counterfeit collections exist. Buyers can check that address on Etherscan before buying on secondary markets.
