Twitter trolls are already stealing NFTs for verified profile pictures
TwitterTwitter started its roll-out of officially verified NFT profile pictures for proud owners to flex their jpegs, but trolls have already discovered how easy it is to ‘steal’ popular NFTs and pretend it’s their own.
The introduction of verified NFT profile pictures was intended as a way for Twitter to integrate further into the metaverse while also allowing owners to prove their ownership, rather than let right-click-savers run rampant.
While at first NFT and crypto fans were rejoicing at being able to properly display and show off their favorites, it became clear that the system could be gamed.
Before long, Twitter users discovered that actually, you don’t need to own the official NFT at all to actually rock the verified profile picture.
TwitterVerified NFT Twitter profiles get a snazzy hexagonal picture, as opposed to the circular one that regular users get given, helping them stand out from the crowd.
It’s been pointed out, however, that right-click-savers actually can save whichever image they like and use it as their verified NFT profile pic.
“It appears to work for ANY NFT in your collection. Not just verified collections,” explained Adam Hollander. “That means someone can just right-click-save any NFT, mint it, and then use it as their PFP.”
There's actually a MAJOR PROBLEM with the new Twitter PFP feature.
It appears to work for ANY NFT in your collection. Not just verified collections.
That means someone can just right-click-save any NFT, mint it, and then use it as their PFP 😢
You were so close Twitter. Why 😭
— Adam Hollander (@HollanderAdam) January 20, 2022
While NFT owners were concerned about this issue, Twitter’s head of product marketing Justin Taylor addressed it in response to Adam.
“We don’t want to limit this to just verified collections, that would be wrong, and non-supportive of the broader NFT movement,” he explained. “Anyone SHOULD be able to mint anything and make it their NFT. We do show if a collection is verified in the detail page though!”
We don’t want to limit this to just verified collections, that would be wrong, and non supportive of the broader nft movement. Anyone SHOULD be able to mint anything and make it their nft.
We do show if a collection is verified in the detail page though!
— Justin Taylor (@TheSmarmyBum) January 20, 2022
While the explanation makes sense, owners of the most expensive premium NFTs such as Bored Apes, CryptoPunks and more will no doubt want another layer of verification to prove once and for all that they are the sole owner.
Whether these changes do come, however, remains to be seen.
