Friend.Tech users reported that they were the victim of SIM swap attacks over the weekend with the attackers successfully draining thousands of dollars worth of tokens.
Friend.Tech code itself was not exploited. No users are at immediate risk. The application lets holders buy "shares" of people who hold an account on X which grants buyers certain privileges.
SIM Swap attacks are a common occurrence and happen when criminals take over control of a mobile phone by tricking service providers to connect that phone number to a SIM card in the hacker’s possession. Swapped phones can then be used for fraudulent activity.
At least two users claimed that were targeted in a SIM swap attack which allowed exploiters to drain over 42 ether (ETH), worth nearly $70,000 at current prices, over separate attacks.
“If your Twitter account is doxxed to your real name, your phone number can be found, and this could happen to you,” posted @darengb, a user who got impacted. Their phone carrier is Verizon.
I was just SIM swapped and robbed of 22 ETH via @friendtech
The 34 of my own keys that I owned were sold, rugging anyone who held my key, all the other keys I owned were sold, and the rest of the ETH in my wallet was drained.
If your Twitter account is doxxed to your real… pic.twitter.com/5wA86mjYEG
— daren (friend, friend) (@darengb) October 3, 2023
Social application Friend.Tech has become one of the most popular crypto platforms this year, despite the bear market, generating steady revenues and profits for its creators. The application amassed over 100,000 users in under two weeks after going live, as previously reported.
However, security risks remain a large cause of concern for any crypto platform. Hackers may employ techniques from smart contract manipulation or flash loan attacks, to using a traditional method to exploit wealthy users.
Meanwhile, some Friend.Tech users have suggested added security features, such as 2FA, a common SMS or code-based authentication service, that may prevent a repeat of such attacks in the future.
