In under 24 hours, a solitary individual, supposedly involved in fraudulent activities, has purportedly extracted around $385,000 worth of Ether. This incident unfolds amid a growing surge in Friend.tech SIM-swap crisis that appear to be specifically targeting users of the platform friend.tech.
On October 5th, blockchain investigator ZachXBT revealed that the same wrongdoer had unlawfully obtained 234ETH in the preceding 24 hours. This was achieved by SIM-swapping four separate users of the friend.tech platform.
Upon closer examination, it became clear that all cryptocurrency transactions could be linked back to this lone hacker who effectively emptied the accounts of these four victims.
One of the victims targeted in this recent surge of SIM-swap attacks shared their unfortunate experience on social media, specifically Twitter. They revealed,
One of the victims targeted in this recent surge of SIM-swap attacks shared their unfortunate experience on social media, specifically Twitter. They revealed;
“Got sim swapped. Apparently, dude was able to do it from an Apple store and switched it to an iPhone SE. Don’t buy my keys, that wallet is compromised.”
In the same week, four more friend.tech users reported account drainage. This occurred due to either SIM-swap or phishing attacks, resulting in the loss of approximately 109 ETH.
Friend.tech SIM-Swap Crisis: Security Concerns and Calls for Enhanced Measures
Friend.tech is a platform that facilitates the purchase of “keys” to connect with specific individuals and access private chat rooms with them.
The SIM-swap scam functions through scammers gaining unauthorized access to the victim’s phone number. They then utilize this access to acquire authentication credentials. These credentials, in turn, provide the scammers with entry into the victim’s social media and cryptocurrency accounts.
Furthermore, Manifold Trading, a company specializing in ecosystem tools, has conducted an estimate. They suggest that a significant portion of the total value locked on the friend.tech platform, approximately $50 million, could be at risk, with about $20 million in particular vulnerable to such attacks.
Urgent Calls for Enhanced Security Measures on Twitter Following SIM-Swap Hacking Incidents
Consequently, there is a growing demand for friend.tech to bolster its account security measures. This includes considering the adoption of two-factor authentication (2FA).
Similar appeals for enhanced security measures have also been made toward Twitter, denoted as “X” in the original text. These calls urge the platform to implement 2FA measures to safeguard users’ mobile phone numbers from exposure.
This plea for action follows the prominent hacking incident involving Vitalik Buterin’s account in September. This incident, too, was attributed to a SIM-swap attack.
The Founder and CEO of wallet security firm Delegate, known as “0xfoobar,” has recommended the removal of phone numbers from social media accounts as a precautionary measure.
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