You've been ripped off.

Someone stole your art and made it an intangible token without your permission. The same scammer is selling NFTs of the stolen artwork and earning lots of money. This is a depressingly frequent situation, and thankfully you're not completely without recourse - though getting your stolen art removed from huge NFT exchanges such as OpenSea and Rarible isn't going to be an easy task.

Welcome to the opposite side of the highly-hyped NFT coin, where fake works and plagiarized art rule the 2021 $44 billion market. The problem is so prevalent that in January of 2022 the self-described "world's largest and the first NFT marketplace," OpenSea, admitted that more than 80 percent of NFTs that were minted using its no-cost minting tool "were copied works or fake collections. They also included spam."

Artists are aware of the less glamorous aspect to NFTs. Twitter accounts that expose NFTs of stolen artwork (like @NFTtheft) have thousands of followers and make a point of highlighting this scam.

A Bay Area artist goes by the name "bor" and runs the Twitter account @NFTtheft. They stated in a an email that they prefer to remain pseudonymous because of harassment directed at artists who are opposed to tokens that are non-fungible.

"I want to stress that plagiarism is an insurmountable issue in the NFT space, and will always be part of it," wrote bor. "As long as anyone can mint anything while remaining pseudonymous on an unregulated/decentralized technology, plagiarism is going to be a big problem."

It's an issue that marketplaces where people list, buy, and sell NFTs are aware of. They often fail to take the necessary steps to tackle the issue. Both OpenSea and Rarible which is another OpenSea competitor, have established procedures for reporting stolen work , but the artists themselves often insist that reporting stolen NFTs artwork isn't always an easy process.

Many artists view it as their only recourse.

How do I report a stolen NFT on OpenSea

Visit OpenSea's Help Center.

Under the "How can we assist you?" Drop-down menu, choose "Intellectual Property Rights Violation/Takedown Request."

Enter your email address.

In the subject line In the subject line, write "fraudulent content."

In the "Description" field, provide as much information as you can in proving that an OpenSea listing is really just your artwork that you have posted without permission (include hyperlinks). Please explain the images you've included (see Step 6 below).

Under "Attachments," include screenshots of both where your work actually is online (presumably someone found it there to copy it before posting it on OpenSea) and the offending NFT listings.

Click "Submit."

It is important to note that OpenSea cannot guarantee any outcome, or even that the company will get back to you.

"When you make a report and submit it to us for a follow-up the team will look over the collection to determine if it is in violation of our Terms of Service and remove it if it does," explains the company's Help Center. "Please be aware that after a resolution the ticket will be closed, meaning you won't hear from us directly."

How do I report a stolen NFT via Rarible

Rarible is similar to OpenSea has a reporting procedure that lets users report stolen artworks on its marketplace as NFTs available for sale. To report stolen art in the form of NFTs on Rarible:

Once you've located the NFT in question, select the three dots in the upper-right corner.

Select the "Report" option.

Write that the work was stolen, and give as many details as you can to back up your claim.

Click "Report".

Importantly, Rarible does not promise it will delist the NFT in question. LEAVES FARM The company doesn't even say it will get back to you - which makes the frustration of artists all too understandable.

How to stop plagiarized NFTs from being plagiarized?

Despite artists being able to report stolen NFTs directly to marketplaces offering them for sale, the problem of thieves making a profit from the work of illustrators and musicians, designers and other creators is not close to being solved. The problem, as the creator behind the Twitter account @NFTtheft explained is a systemic issue - and will require a systemic solution.

"Scammers are stealing from YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Deviant Art, Artstation, and even Minecraft fan forums," wrote bor. "If it can be downloaded and then accessed by scammers, they will attempt to take it. Artists have less control over their creations than they ever had before."

A quick look on Twitter shows that many artists are shocked that someone has taken their work and, with no knowledge, produced it and sold it to NFTs.

What other steps can those who are unaware of being dragged into this often fraudulent world take, other than reporting plagiarized NFTs? True believers who are not fungible will not like the answer, if bor is right.