Here’s what you can do if your NFTs are stolen on OpenSea NFT marketplace

Hackers usually take charge of stolen NFTs and list them on different marketplaces, where any user can buy these NFTs. According to Decrypt, as of early July, over $25.40 million worth of NFTs were marked suspicious, however, many of the digital assets were not stolen but reported as ‘suspicious’ by malicious users.

It should be noted that as soon as an NFT is declared stolen it is banned from the marketplace until the user who files the claim reports said it was returned.

What can you do if your NFTs are stolen?

For all reports going forward, OpenSea said it will wait for a police report within 7 days, meaning that any user who is the victim of the theft will have to register a formal complaint with the police, and only after that, the NFTs will be disabled for buying. If the marketplace does not receive the complaint it will re-enable buying and selling for the reported item.

“This change will help prevent false reports. We think this is a good step and we’re grateful for the community’s suggestions,” OpenSea said in a Twitter thread.

Users who have reported the theft can also report re-enabling the NFTs when they recover. “We’re finalizing details on a simplified process that doesn’t require a notary.”

Preventing scams

When buying it is important to investigate the history of an NFT. This can be done after checking its OpenSea page to see if it has the “reported for suspicious activity” banner. The only way to prevent buying a stolen NFT from a potential theft is through healthy scepticism and on-chain safety practices.