My industry has a lot of sayings and folklore. This is one of my favorites. No, this is not a typo. The “SAFU” word, which is said like “safe” came from the former CEO of Binance, CZ. He tweeted this out to inform users that their exchange, which had a minor hiccup at the time, did not lose user funds. With that said, when dealing with Web3 in any aspect, you have to think about security. When I talk to people not in Bitcoin or Web3 at large, I often find it common for things like “who do I call if I lose my seed phrase” or “what’s Bitcoin’s customer service number” to be asked. They are comparing a system they know to a new system that doesn’t operate the same way. It’s a paradigm shift and a shift in thinking, but security remains deeply important.
In the video that I made in connection with this newsletter, I illustrate how someone attempted to hack my entire computer system. I entertained it for as long as I did because it was unique. There was an Instagram hacker who hacked an old acquaintance’s Instagram page, which had hundreds of thousands of followers. They engaged with me based on past DMs, which gave the hacker context, and it could have been disarming if I didn’t know what was taking place. It was funny to watch. They said I won a "promotion," and they would send me money directly to my Cash App. They needed me only to confirm my number and send back a confirmation code. I did it. Why? Because I had 2FA (two factor authentication). This means that even if my password is compromised, they have to go through another security field. The Instagram hacker said, “You have to remove 2FA in order for us to fully confirm.” I had such a good laugh. I told the hacker I know what’s up, and I’m reporting you. They deleted the entire account after I sent those two messages. The only reason why I went through all of that is because I get phishing emails, DMs, and calls literally every single day. (Sidebar: Basically, phishing is like fishing for information from others to steal and use your for your own gain. It’s an act that scammers do digitally to get access to info or to social engineer you into giving info. This happened to both presidential candidates, as you can read here, and happens to many people all over the world. I didn’t want to assume you knew the term.) Sometimes, I can look at an email and just know within 2 seconds if it’s a scam or not.
Nowadays, the scammers are getting very clever. I will stop getting close to the fire for entertainment, even if I have on a fireproof suit; we are living in volatile times.
From telecommunications to health care, there’s been an onslaught of hacks this year. But what was reported on roughly 24 hours ago takes the cake. Have you seen this?
What a seed phrase is to a wallet is what a social security number is for identity. It’s not hard to find people’s addresses, phone numbers, and names with a little Google search. You can find a person’s social circle, frequently visited places, interests, hobbies, and even kids all by looking on Facebook or other social media platforms. A quick phishing link that’s sent to a person and then clicked may review the kind of phone a person has, the location of this person, and even the telecommunications provider. They would have to go on the dark web to find a social security number from a dead person and create a scam around that for credit cards, wire fraud, etc. Now, the hackers has a social security number buffet where they can take any American citizen’s social security number and do mischief with it. How do you protect yourself?
Freeze your social security number. While losing your seed phrase in Web3 means the show’s finished, close the curtains, game over, you do have the power to ask for a freeze of your social security number via these three entities, which can stop fraud:
All free. All real. All available. Take your pick from Experian, TransUnion, or Equifax. Remember, Equifax was once hacked a while back. Click here for that story.
Also, if you’re online and you do not have 2FA on, you are not set up for success. Download a tool like Authy and install 2FA on your system for free! Mobile or desktop.
Remember, we are only as strong as our systems. If you don’t have a defense, you will always be on offense. If black hat hackers or teams of black hat hackers are working overtime to try and swipe your data or money, your job is to make it hard for them.
Stay SAFU.
P.S. SAFU is also an acronym for Secure Asset Fund for Users.
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