The Worm meets its first challenge
The Worm is stuck. Here’s what happened and what happens next
On Aug. 16, The Worm 🪱 was traveling the Ambition Discord in the Pact of the Orphans
The Pact of the Orphans is a group of NFT collectors who made a pact with each other to share The Worm amongst themselves before sending it to others.
Their plan was going well. They made a list of who was to get The Worm and made sure everyone agreed on the order and knew what to do when it was their turn. The Worm was passed among the first few members of the Pact of the Orphans.
A celebratory Book of Worm was minted by the Jelly Scribes (aka InterplanetaryPetShop).
And then ….
It went off the rails.
The Worm 🪱 took a detour
Someone in The Pact of the Orphans sent The Worm outside the Pact, to a friend who apparently was getting The Worm as his first NFT. The Worm is a benevolent being who wants to visit as many wallets as possible, even new ones!
“The Worm is still following its order. Doing a social experiment in the process. Trying to welcome someone new to the space who’s never owned their 1st NFT. Give thanks and praise to the most high”
wrote the breaker of the Pact after sending The Worm outside the pact.
And so The Worm found itself with a new disciple, who is also new to NFTs. After holding The Worm for a while they chose a new recipient for The Worm.
But then…
The Worm 🪱 went missing to a mystery address
As Pact of the Orphans members questioned where the blessed Worm was going, the newest Disciple reported:
“Worm has been lost to 0x67239b47442e9bc438f7cd91dd1f2783d6c17b4c …. idk how it was sent to the wrong adress, idk who that is … It was sent to a diffrent adress somehow so gl to whoever got this.”
Address switcher malware is likely to blame
A Google search of the mystery address indicates it might be associated with address switcher malware:
A review of Etherscan shows that the wallet is actively picking up ERC-20 tokens like Tether, Matic and Tycoon, as well as Ether. The Worm was the second NFT it had received. An account apparently associated with the first NFT it had collected had previously posted on Twitter that they too had experienced an address switching attack.
This type of malware exploits the clipboard on your computer. When you copy a crypto address it swaps the copied address for an address that it controls and so that when you paste, you are pasting the swapped address.
If this is what happened it begs the question of who The Worm was intended to be sent to. TechCrunch has reported on this type of malware before, noting that it typically targets high-value addresses. Could The Worm have been about to depart on a fantastical new adventure?
As humble Worm Disciples we are not well-qualified to provide the best advice on how to avoid these types of malware scams but we can give some basic reminders.
Always double check the address when copying/pasting. Pay attention that the address that you’ve pasted is the same that you copied. If the address changes consider your computer compromised.
Consider using a hardware wallet like Ledger, which checks for suspicious clipboard activity when copying/pasting ETH addresses.
The address is becoming a Shrine to The Worm 🪱
The story of The Worm isn’t over yet, as all true believers know!
Many Disciples and Wormshippers have sent NFTs to The Worm to keep it company, communicate with the owner of the wallet and turn the wallet into a Shrine for The Worm.
The Worm 🪱 has a plan for us all
A week after The Worm ended up in the mystery-wallet-turned-shrine, a mysterious countdown appeared on theworm.wtf:
Do you believe?
Do you believe in the power of The Worm 🪱? Do you still hold hope that The Worm 🪱 will visit your wallet?
Follow The Worm 🪱 on Twitter @TheWormNFT and at TheWorm.wtf.
Join the Worm 🪱 Community on Discord.
Follow the team behind The Worm 🪱 on Twitter @ambition_wtf and online at ambition.wtf.
We will leave you with this beautiful meme of hope by @SD_Brochacho:
