QUADRIGA INITIATIVE
CRYPTO WATCHDOG & FRAUD RECOVERY PLATFORM
A COMMUNITY-BASED, NOT-FOR-PROFIT
UNKNOWN
JULY 2021
MOROCCO
UNKNOWN
DESCRIPTION OF EVENTS
"I live in a third world country and for the many tourists that come here, heads up, it's Morocco." "I use my phone for crypto and online banking since I do some freelancing. I have been DCAing for a few months now, and I had Google Authenticator and SIM authentication as 2FA."
"My phone was locked at the moment it was stolen, I was able to call it a few times before probably they removed the SIM card. Of course the SIM card was stolen as well, and since I wanted it to be not known to many people or even under my name, I could not get it back from the agency."
"I always knew the phone number is not a safe option for 2FA, not only because of SIM swaps, but also as in my case: Phone number with no name and only 1 phone call I remember I did on it this month (My agency requires at to provide at least 3 phone numbers I have dialed this month - 1, my father). Don't use your phone number as 2FA, and consider having your name under your card (I could not as Crypto trading is not allowed in my country)."
"It has been a rough week, and the moment I started thinking things are going to be okay, I had these two guys steal my phone under the threat of a weapon (knife) this midday." "I have been robbed physically under the threat of a weapon last week." "It was a very stressful week, then the moment it started to cool of a bit, they stepped in." "I don't have many people to tell this to, and I would not anyway as they'd not get it (they think Crypto is a scam as a whole, not just shitcoins)."
"I know one should not reveal where they're from on platforms like Reddit, but since I know tourists who were robbed here as well, I hate to see it happen. I am no tourist and I steal got robbed."
"I know using phone number as a 2FA is not safe because of the SIM swaps, but ironically I can't get my phone number back. I have filled a police statement one hour after that, but I don't think they could do anything about it, as again, my fault, I never saved my phone's IMEI number (and since they official country's stand on crypto is not so good, I would not want them to be able to anyways, I guess, so why)"
"I have the 16 character long Google Authenticator which I believe I should input into a new Google Authenticator app, but as of now, I cannot get a new phone as things are tight."
"I don't know if my words are coherent, I can't focus. This may not be a big deal to most investors here, but for those who are just trying to get buy, it leaves a mark. I look forward your thoughts and pieces of advice."
"I despise theft and scammers." "I from the bottom of my heart wish I meet the scums who robbed me someday." "The police are retarded. Don't get your hopes up." "I [now] carry a hammer in my back pack." "[A] hammer around is a good safety much better then a knife!"
Reddit user Overflow0X from Morocco reports having his phone stolen by a physical threat with a knife. Limited details are provided in his account of events in which his phone was taken and presumably used to gain access to his cryptocurrency trading accounts. Because the physical phone was used as his 2-factor authentication, he had it registered without using his name, and he had no backup, nothing could be recovered.
HOW COULD THIS HAVE BEEN PREVENTED?
Always keep a backup of 2FA and any access credentials in a safe location. It is recommended that the majority of funds be kept offline in a secure account, not on a hot wallet of a phone or an exchange platform.
A large factor in this situation was the questionable legality of owning cryptocurrency in Morocco. The situation could have been avoided or the impact reduced with clear regulation allowing cryptoassets.
If you want to join me in watching metamask account get robbed by some asshole look below : CryptoCurrency (Jul 3)
If you want to join me in watching metamask account get robbed by some asshole look below : CryptoCurrency (Jul 5)
I had my phone robbed under the treat of weapon today : CryptoCurrency (Sep 1)
reveddit (Sep 1)
Overflow0X comments on Is it illegal to carry a knife in your pocket for self defense purposes ? (Sep 1)
Overflow0X comments on [deleted by user] (Sep 1)
