As Web 3 technology continues to evolve, hackers are finding new ways to penetrate people's private areas without permission. SIM swap scam is one of them using which hackers steal crypto assets from people's digital wallets, causing huge losses to investors. Therefore, increase vigilance and awareness in this matter, and take appropriate steps to protect your digital assets from these scams.
Is it that easy to swap SIM? Even Ethereum (ETH) co-founder and CEO Vitalik Buterin could not save himself from this scam. Taking over their social media accounts, the hacker posted a fake NFT gift that also contained a phishing link. Unknowing users clicked on the link without thinking, due to which about 700000 dollars disappeared from their digital wallet. However, I don't know how many users clicked on the phishing link.
If there is a post about NFT giveaway from the social media account of such a high profile person, Ethereum co-founder and CEO, then anyone can fall into its trap.
Buterin has confirmed that he has become a victim of a SIM swap scam, but what about the users who lost their tokens.
Buterin believes that the hacker did social engineering with his mobile service provider and obtained all the personal information.
Social engineering is manipulation technic that allows bad actors to take advantage of human errors and obtain personal information.
If you want to protect yourself from SIM swap, then first of all you have to understand what is SIM swap?
SIM swap is a kind of technique that helps an attacker to steal your personal information and take control of your phone number. However it is not that easy, they have to collect some important information from you through some other hack. Then they call your mobile service provider and pretend to be you to get your mobile number on his new SIM.
Once the attacker takes over your phone number, he will be able to access all the messages, calls sent to that number, all the apps installed on your mobile including social media and financial apps. it's too dangerous.
While two-factor authentication is used to create strong security around digital wallets, its vulnerabilities can help hackers steal your sensitive data. Receiving a text message or call asking for two-step verification can be dangerous if you've been a victim of a SIM swap scam. They will be able to see your important messages and calls.
SIM swap scams are slowly increasing because it does not require advanced technical knowledge. Hackers often use public knowledge or social engineering to carry out this type of scam. The best example of social engineering is the incident that happened with Vitalik Buterin, in which his social media account was taken over by a bad actor.
Apart from Vitalik Buterin, Gutter Cat Gang, Bart Stephens, Brian Pellegrino and Cole have also been recent victims of SIM-swap scam.
How to detect the warning signs of Sim swap attacks
It is very important to identify the warning signs of SIM swapping attacks to prevent online threats. Your silly mistakes can help attackers gain unauthorized access to your digital wallet, passwords or other sensitive data.
Bombardment of Text Messages and Sudden loss of all your mobile services
According to Cole and Brantley Milligan, bombardment of text messages could be a warning sign of SIM swapping attacks. If you successfully recognize this signal, you can probably prevent a SIM swap attack. If all your mobile services stop suddenly, it could possibly be a sign of successful SIM swapping.
Unauthorized Posts from Your Social Media Accounts
Today every person has a social media account. Either they login with mobile number or user ID and password. Users who log in with a mobile number can easily lose their social media accounts in case of SIM swap attacks. If you see any suspicious posts, comments, or messages on your social media account, attackers may have taken control of your account.
Unable to log into Your Financial Accounts
If you are not able to log into your financial accounts with existing credentials, your passwords may have been changed by hackers. You may have become a victim of a SIM swap attack.
Notifications from Unfamiliar Devices
When a hacker steals your phone number or SIM card and inserts it into different devices, you receive various notifications from unknown devices on your mobile. This may indicate a security breach. They can access all the sensitive data related to passwords and financial information stored in your mobile.
In view of the increasing cases of SIM swap scams, the US Congress and regulators like the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have started working on measures to stop SIM swap scams. The measures proposed by the FCC would increase consumer protection and introduce stricter rules for identity verification for phone number transfers to new devices. However, this will not be possible unless the mobile service provider verifies the request by sending notifications to the original customers.
How to Prevent SIM Swap Attacks
You can take the following steps to protect yourself from a SIM swap attack:
You should store sensitive data like passwords and PINs in a secure place, so that no one can access it easily.
You can set a PIN number to access your SIM card. This PIN will be required to be provided to the device whenever you restart it or insert it into a new mobile.
Do not share sensitive data like cryptocurrencies or other financial holdings on social media platforms as hackers wait to exploit this information to carry out SIM swap attacks.
Avoid using 2FA verification with SMS as it is hackable. Instead, 2FA apps like Google Authenticator, Authy, or Microsoft Authenticator can provide better security to your social and financial accounts.
Try to identify suspicious emails or malicious or phishing links as clicking on them can lead to theft of your sensitive login credentials or huge financial loss.
I don't think any intellectual person would like to share their financial information like bank or credit card details with anyone. However, one can do this accidentally. We always get notification from banks that their officials never ask for bank account passwords or PINs. So, you need to be cautious.
Instead of these things you can use physical security keys to get an extra layer of security for online financial accounts.
Conclusion
Crypto enthusiasts are very concerned about the security of their digital wallets due to the rise of SIM swap scams in the crypto sector. Individuals need to be more vigilant to identify the warning signs of SIM swaps and implement security measures to prevent these malicious attacks. Until regulators bring in advanced protective measures, crypto investors should actively work to protect their digital assets in this growing crypto landscape.