For the better part of the last five years, stories about hackers using the SIM swapping technique to target crypto accounts have dotted the pages of newspapers. In August, on-chain investigator ZachXBT revealed that crypto investors had lost a whopping $13.3 million to a spate of SIM swap attacks in the preceding four months.
In June, Todayq News had reported that a group of scammers used the SIM swap technique to hijack the online personas of several prominent crypto figures—to steal money and harass regular people.
FriendTech offers extra layer of protection to users
Over the past few weeks, users of decentralized social media platform FriendTech have also been plagued by the scourge of SIM-swap attacks. To curb this menace, the company has added a new security upgrade.
On Monday, the team behind FriendTech took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and said the platform has enabled two-factor authentication (2FA) for users seeking additional security.
“You can now add a 2FA password to your FriendTech account for additional protection if your cell carrier or email service becomes compromised,” FriendTech said in a tweet.
While signing onto new devices, FriendTech will ask users to add an extra password—which can’t be reset by the “friendtech nor Privy teams.” While the 2FA security measure is optional, FriendTech has advised users to exercise caution while using the feature.
Scourge of SIM swap attacks plaguing FriendTech users
The latest security upgrade comes amid a barrage of SIM swap attacks on FriendTech users. Using the SIM swap technique, a scammer stole Ethereum worth $385,000 from four different FriendTech users last month. What’s more problematic is that it wasn’t an isolated incident. A number of FriendTech users have reportedly fallen victim to SIM swap hacks since September.
How a SIM swap works
SIM swapping is a cutting-edge scam that allows hackers to gain complete access to a victim’s phone number. The technique involves fraudsters tricking mobile network providers into believing that they’re the rightful owner of the victim’s phone number.
Control over the victim’s phone number also gives cyber thieves access to a wide range of most sensitive digital accounts, including social media, email and bank and crypto accounts.
FriendTech mired in troubles
Ever since its launch in August, FriendTech social currency platform has been making headlines—for all the wrong reasons. Last month, Justin Blau, who also goes by the moniker DJ 3LAU, announced his departure from FriendTech over “regulatory concerns.” In particular, he voiced reservations about the platform’s automated market maker (AMM) mechanism—claiming it operates within a regulatory gray area.