In the crypto sphere, SIM swap scams are on the rise, leading to significant losses. Uncover the concerning trend and take steps to protect your assets.
On Sept. 9, scammers took over the social media account of Ethereum (ETH) co-founder and CEO Vitalik Buterin. They then used it to post a fake NFT giveaway, directing unwitting users to click a phishing link that drained nearly $700,000 from their wallets.
Days after the incident, Buterin confirmed that he had been the victim of a SIM swap, speculating that bad actors had social-engineered his mobile service provider to take over his phone number.
Buterin is one of the highest-profile victims of this attack that is becoming more prevalent in the crypto space. In August, noted blockchain analyst ZachXBT shared data showing that since May, the crypto community had lost more than $13 million from 54 SIM swap scams.
What is a SIM swap, and why has it become such a popular avenue for scamming crypto holders? And what can you do to protect yourself from such attacks?
What is a SIM swap?
A SIM swap is a form of identity theft that involves an attacker taking control of your mobile phone number and assigning it to a new SIM card they control.
Usually, the attackers exploit
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Author: Julius Mutunkei