$ETH co-founder Vitalik Buterin got a taste of the hacker life—SIM swap style. 🪧
On Farcaster, the decentralized Twitter for people too cool for centralized social media, Buterin confirmed that he lost control of his X account, and $691K got siphoned off by hackers. They dangled fake Consensys NFTs like a carrot, and his 4.9 million followers hopped right after it.
Buterin’s not alone in this SIM swap circus. Bart Stephens, co-founder of Blockchain Capital, lost a jaw-dropping $6.3 million in a similar hack last month. Even the Gutter Cat Gang NFT project wasn’t safe, losing $765K in NFTs. 🙁
ZachXBT, the crypto detective, tallied the damage: over $13.3 million lost to 54 SIM swaps in four months. His advice? Forget 2FA; it’s as effective as a screen door on a submarine.
So, what’s the moral of this digital fable? You’re not immune even if you’re a crypto demigod like Buterin. Buterin’s sage advice: remove your phone number from X, because that’s like leaving your keys in the ignition. 🚘