Binance CEO Tweets Phishing Warning, Urges Use of 2FA on Crypto Exchanges

Updated: 23 July 2023

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Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) tweeted a warning about phishing attacks and urged people to use Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) with on all crypto exchanges.

The warning came soon after a hacking of the Twitter account of Hayden Adams, the founder of DeFi protocol Uniswap. Hackers tried to take advantage of the compromised account by scamming its followers via a link on the page.

Be careful with phishing and other social engineering scams. Best to enable 2FA with a hardware device (Yubikey) on all crypto exchanges. https://t.co/orI7Rw3npS

— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) July 21, 2023

Uniswap’s official account quickly issued a tweet confirming the hack, and clarified that there were no giveaways, airdrops, or bounties associated with the hack. The DeFi protocol’s social media channel urged users to be cautious of suspicious links but reassured them that the protocol itself had not been compromised during the incident.

The attack was identified as a sim swap attack, which occurs when a hacker persuades the victim’s cellular provider to transfer their phone number to a different SIM card, often controlled by the hacker. If successful, all calls, texts, and internet capabilities are redirected to the new card, rendering the victim’s old card useless.

Adams was able to regain control of his account within a few hours and confirmed with a retweet Uniswap’s announcement.

.@haydenzadams’ Twitter account has been hacked. Please do not click on any links. There is no giveaway, airdrop, or bounty. The Protocol has not been hacked or exploited.

We will let you know when the issue is resolved

— Uniswap Labs 🦄 (@Uniswap) July 20, 2023

Binance CEO Tweet Has 680k Views

CZ’s tweet also included a link to a news report revealing that more than 500 million WhatsApp user records were up for sale. Zhao pointed out that despite the news report being over 6 months old, the data had been circulating extensively in recent days.

CZ’s warning amassed over 680k views and prominent crypto influencers amplified the message by retweeting it.

Fourfold Increase in Hacking Complaints

In early July, Bryan Pellegrino, the CEO of LayerZero, also fell victim to a SIM swap attack, resulting in hackers briefly taking control of his Twitter account. Pellegrino speculated that attackers might have obtained his personal information from his speaker badge at the Collision conference.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says that in 2021 it received 1,600 complaints related to SIM-swapping attacks, a fourfold increase from the previous three years, with reported losses exceeding $68 million.