Hackers are trying to steal money from X users — don’t be one of them

Unless you’re a frequent X user, you may have missed that Elon Musk launched X Money, the financial services platform that he originally envisioned for the X.com brand when he purchased the domain in 1999. Shortly after its debut, X Money users came under attack, with hackers looking to steal everything.

X Money is a new financial platform under Musk’s growing brand, X Corp. While it isn’t technically a bank, it offers many financial services that you would find at any other financial institution. Some of these include high-yield accounts with up to 6.00% APY — high above the national average of 0.62% APY — the X Card debit card that offers 3% cash back on eligible purchases, and early payday support for direct deposit checks.

The goal was to reset user passwords to access X accounts and the money inside.

The X Money website also touts “powerful security,” which unfortunately was already put to the test by bad actors looking to take advantage of X Money’s brand-new customers.

The mess began when some users received unsolicited password change requests for their X accounts. The goal was to reset user passwords to access those accounts and the money inside. According to a response from Grok, hackers simply spammed the password reset feature by typing in users’ public X usernames and then clicking “forgot password?” in hopes of taking control.

X.com login page

X product engineer Mridul Singhai acknowledged the issue and quickly assuaged concerns that a broader attack was under way. In a post, he said, “We are actively investigating the issue and, so far, have found no evidence of any breaches. We apologize for the multiple emails and appreciate your patience as we work to resolve this.”

In other words, the attack doesn’t appear to be the result of a system leak, hack, or compromised data. Scammers are simply targeting users who are suspected to have X Money accounts and weaponizing the password reset feature to gain entry.

As for how attackers knew which accounts to pursue, there currently isn’t a badge or identifying marker to denote an X Money customer from a regular X user. However, since X recently moved its creator payment program from Stripe to X Money, any account with a “Subscribe” button is a likely target.

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NurPhoto/Getty Images

Whether you’re an X Money account holder or a typical X.com user looking to shore up security on your profile, it’s actually very easy to keep hackers and would-be criminals out of your business. X offers several security features that you should enable now, even if you think you’re not at risk.

Open the X app, tap your profile picture in the top left corner, and then choose “Settings and privacy” at the bottom. On the next page, tap “Security and account access,” followed by “Security.” On this last page, you’ll see several options. I recommend setting up Passkeys at the very least, but enabling all of these can help.

Screenshots by Zach Laidlaw/X.com Security Options

Two-factor authentication requires the person logging in — whether that’s you or a potential hacker — to have access to another approved form of verification before he can access your account. The other form can be a text message sent directly to your phone, a temporary code sent to an authentication app, or even a physical security key that must be inserted into your device to prove you are you. Personally, the authentication app option is my favorite, but feel free to choose which works best.

Password reset protection requires a person to know your account email address — not just your username — to reset your password. Since your email address is never openly shared on your profile, this should be information that only you possess, helping to keep you safer.

Finally, Passkeys add a biometric layer to the login process. These allow you to bypass the usual login information and instead require you to verify your identity with a FaceID scan or a fingerprint. This feature is the most secure option, because only you have access to your biometric data.

Once you have these set up, your X account is secure, and you won’t have to worry about hackers attempting to break in and cause trouble.

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