Although I personally have not fallen victim to one of these scams but a couple of friends of mine have been scammed
I am sorry for this tragedy and I hope your friend can forget about this incident of being scammed by NFT. Keep smiling and strong.
And I would really love to know what are the steps one should take in other to avoid falling for these scams
First, maybe don't trust social media too much, the digital world is full of fakes.
Second, there are so many fake accounts that use other people's names and end up committing fraud, this problem is not only in crypto but also in real businesses.
Third, it's better to continue discussing with the experienced crypto community because those who are experienced and provide the best advice will definitely keep us away from Scammers, especially NFT social media like what happened to your friend.