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Friend.tech SIM-swap scourge continues as scammer nets $385K in Ether

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A single scammer has reportedly managed to steal round $385,000 value of Ether (ETH) in lower than 24 hours, amid a scourge of SIM-swap hacks seemingly focusing on good friend.tech customers. 

On Oct. 5, blockchain sleuth ZachXBT reported the identical scammer had pilfered 234 ETH over the previous 24 hours by SIM-swapping 4 completely different good friend.tech customers.

The on-chain motion of crypto belongings all traced again to the identical hacker who drained the accounts of the 4 victims.

One of many reported victims of the newest chain of SIM-swap assaults posted to X (Twitter) following the assault:

“Acquired sim swapped. Apparently, dude was in a position to do it from an Apple retailer and switched it to an iPhone SE. Do not buy my keys, that pockets is compromised.”

X person “KingMgugga” reported an assault focusing on them taking place in actual time, posting to X that they had been “getting fucking sim swapped watching it occur” and asking for assist. In the meantime one other X person “holycryptoroni” confirmed they had been equally attacked, lamenting “I bought swapped sorry.”

Earlier this week, an additional 4 good friend.tech customers claimed to have their accounts drained as a result of a SIM-swap or phishing assault, totaling to round 109 ETH stolen.

Good friend.tech permits customers to buy “keys” of people which grants entry to personal chat rooms with them.

The SIM-swap rip-off happens when scammers acquire entry to the sufferer’s telephone quantity and use it to amass authentication which allows them to entry their social media and crypto accounts.

Manifold Buying and selling, a agency constructing instruments for the ecosystem, estimated that $20 million of good friend.tech’s $50 million whole worth locked could possibly be in danger. It referred to as for the platform to beef up its account safety measures by enabling two-factor authentication (2FA).

Associated: How easy is a SIM swap attack? Here’s how to prevent one

There have additionally been requires X to implement 2FA safety measures to stop the leaking of cell phone numbers following the high-profile hack of Vitalik Buterin’s account in September which was additionally as a consequence of a SIM swap assault.

Founder and CEO of pockets safety agency Delegate “0xfoobar” suggested eradicating telephone numbers from social media accounts.

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