The social platform Friend.Tech, which allows the tokenization of reputations and social relationships, seems to be facing some sort of issue. According to reports on the X social network, there were SIM card swap attacks over the weekend, an attack that clones a person’s phone number.
Hackers use this type of attack to gain access to smartphones and authentication systems, allowing them to steal data and even money. And this indeed happened to Friend.Tech users, with the attackers successfully stealing thousands of dollars in tokens.
However, the attack only affected users’ smartphones and their data. The Friend.Tech code itself did not suffer any damage. No user is at immediate risk, but caution should be taken when using smartphones.
The app allows users to purchase “shares” of people who have an account on X, granting buyers certain privileges. The social network has exploded in popularity in recent months and has moved large sums of money, which has attracted criminals.
Understanding the attack:
SIM card swap attacks are a common occurrence and are not limited to Friend.Tech. They occur when criminals take control of a smartphone, tricking service providers. In this way, hackers can generate a fake chip and connect the user’s number to this card.
The hackers then use the swapped phones for fraudulent activities. For example, they can access a user’s exchange account that uses SMS authentication. By doing this, they can steal their cryptocurrencies.
In the case of Friend.Tech users, the attack gave hackers access to the affected users’ accounts. At least two users claimed to have lost over 42 Ether (ETH) in these attacks. At the current exchange rate, this value corresponds to over R$ 350,000.
One of these users goes by the name Daren and posted an account on X. According to Daren, 34 of his keys on the social network were stolen and then sold through this attack. In addition, his number started receiving several fraudulent calls.
“If your Twitter account is linked to your real name, hackers can find your phone number, and this can happen to you,” he said. His carrier is Verizon.
Risk of attacks:
The social app Friend.Tech has become one of the most popular cryptocurrency platforms this year, despite the bear market, generating constant revenues and profits for its creators. In less than two weeks after its launch, the app accumulated over 100,000 users and moved thousands of dollars in ETH.
However, security risks remain a major concern for any platform. Hackers can employ techniques ranging from smart contract manipulation or instant loan attacks to the use of a traditional method to exploit users.
To protect against this type of attack, it is important to take some essential precautions. For example, avoid exposing your phone number to unknown websites or people, and avoid using your mobile phone as a means of authentication on platforms.