The Friend Tech SIM swap attacks that we brought up in recent days continue to victimize users. A scammer managed to steal 385,000 dollars worth of Ethereum in the past 24 hours using this method. After the start of these attacks, the Friend Tech team announced that no SMS will be sent to any user regarding this matter and that attention should be paid to this method, but some users continue to fall into this trap.
Losses Continue at Friend Tech
Blockchain analyst ZachXBT warned his followers with an X post on October 5th. The scammer, who previously stole the assets worth 72 ETH from two users, this time stole the assets worth 234 ETH from four different Friend Tech users in the last 24 hours using the SIM swap method. According to the research conducted through on-chain data, the hacker whose wallet was identified is acting alone in these attacks. A user who lost their assets in the SIM swap attack made the following post on X:
“My SIM card was changed. Apparently, the man managed to do this from an Apple store and replaced it with an iPhone SE. Do not take my keys, that wallet has been compromised.”
At the beginning of this week, four more Friend Tech users claimed that their wallets were emptied as a result of the SIM swap method or phishing attacks and a total of more than 109 ETH was stolen.
Precautions Should Be Taken for SIM Swap Attacks
SIM swap fraud occurs when attackers gain access to the phone numbers of the targeted individuals and use them for identity verification, thus gaining access to their social media and crypto accounts.
Manifold Trading, a company developing products for the Web3 sector, estimates that at least 20 million dollars of the 50 million dollars worth of assets traded on the Friend Tech protocol may be at risk due to this attack method. The company officials called on the platform to use two-factor authentication (2FA) for platform logins and to increase security measures for account security.
Vitalik Buterin’s X account was attacked using the SIM swap method, and after this attack, many users called for the implementation of 2FA security measures to prevent the leakage of their phone numbers to the X team. “0xfoobar”, the founder and CEO of the security firm Delegate, advised the removal of phone numbers on social media.
