Thursday, August 16, 2018

How critical in SIM Swap Fraud theft to cryptocurrency investors?

Colleagues, when members of the cryptocurrency ecosystem assess security threats SIM Swap Fraud likely ranks quite low on the priority list. Nevertheless, for cryptocurrency investors who use software-based crypto wallets the impact of SIM Swap Fraud can be significant. Case I point is the $224m law suit filed against AT&T by crypto investor Michael Terpin. Such fraud is a form of identity theft in which thieves convince untrained or unsuspecting telecom carrier and smartphone vendor support staff of the need to upgrade a SIM card. In turn the thieves gain access to most all of the phones apps and security information. The US Federal Trade Commission has been aware of this scheme for at least two years, however, there is little evidence that phone manufacturers and carriers have implemented protocols (e.g. human factors prevention methods) to reduce such crime. SIM Swap Fraud takes advantage of the rise of cryptocurrency software wallets and identify theft schemes. Cryptocurrency investors need to assess the risk-reward level of software vs. hardware vs. paper wallets along with their vulnerability to ID theft. Bottom line: SIM Swap Fraud is one more weakness is the broader crypto ecosystem which traders and investors need to mitigate. Share your comments today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/

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