If you have a Robinhood account, enable two-factor now – hackers are targeting users

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If you’re a Robinhood user and don’t already have two-factor authentication enabled on your account, you should probably go ahead and do that right now. According to a Bloomberg report, hackers have gained access to “almost 2,000” trading accounts. Not only did hackers gain access to these accounts, but they also siphoned money out of them too.

At first, Robinhood claimed only a “limited number” of users were comprised. However, an unnamed source “with knowledge of an internal review” came out and revealed to Bloomberg that it was almost 2,000 accounts. Sure, this is a drop in the bucket when you compare it to its userbase of 13 million users. But hey, 2,000 accounts is still a lot.

And when these accounts were hacked, Robinhood couldn’t do much to help its affected users. Bloomberg writes, “The attacks unleashed a torrent of complaints on social media, where investors recounted futile attempts to call the brokerage, which doesn’t have a customer service phone number. Robinhood, which has more than 13 million customer accounts, is now considering whether to add a phone number along with other tools.”

Now, the company really wants its users to enable two-factor authentication. Under the guise of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the company sent out an email along with push notifications to users suggesting they turn it on. And if you got this email or push notification, I highly suggest you do it.

Robinhood wants its users to know that they have their backs if their account is ever compromised. The company says it will work quickly with customers to secure their holdings. In a statement given to Business Insider, the company said, “We always respond to customers reporting fraudulent or suspicious activity and work as quickly as possible to complete investigations. The security of Robinhood customer accounts is a top priority, and something we take very seriously.”

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Kevin Raposo

Kevin is KnowTechie's founder and executive editor. With over 15 years of blogging experience in the tech industry, Kevin has transformed what was once a passion project into a full-blown tech news publication. Shoot him an email at kevin@knowtechie.com.