Although phones are not as easy to hack as computers, many cybercriminals still know how to take advantage of their vulnerabilities and exploit them. New scams pop up almost ever week, and most of them just require users to be a bit vigilant, but there is a new cyber scam that has been detected, and this one could be a lot harder to manage. According to the National Police “SIM swapping fraud is one of the most current forms of cyber fraud”, and if it happens, there is a good change that a scammer is after your hard earned money.
The scam works as follows, hackers find ways to gather your personal info, usually through phishing emails, malicious software or careless social media postings, and once the find your phone number, they duplicate your SIM card and activate it on a device they control. Since most modern verification practices connect to your phone, either receiving a text message or a call to give you a code, they can use the cloned number to access your online banking and other private accounts.
If they manage to do this, and with your phone is not as hard as one might think, they can reset your passwords, log into your accounts, make transfers, or even apply for loans, and all that with your name attached. Since they now have a way to enter your account, this could all happen in a matter of minutes and you might not notice until it is too late and all your finances have been compromised.
How to avoid phone cyber scams and protect our information – Protect your SIM
This scam can be avoided inn the same way that most can, being very vigilant with your personal information. In can be tempting to use Social Media publicly or just hand out your phone number without thinking, but while these behaviors are common and do not usually cause any harm, when they do they are quite impressively bad.
However, once the ship has sailed and you have been scammed, the most important thing is not to panic and start protecting yourself. If you have been victim of this specific scam, one of the first things to watch out for is whether or not your phone suddenly stops letting you make calls or send texts. If it does, it might be your first sign that your SIM has been cloned and reactivated elsewhere.
Your carrier will usually notify you via text saying your SIM or number has been activated on a different device, so take the warning seriously and call to report the action regardless of whether or not you think it is serious. Once reported, they might be able to deactivate the second SIM card and maybe even send you a new one.
The Consumers and Users Organization (OCU) explains that this step is really quite important “If this happens to you, contact your operator immediately to confirm whether someone has duplicated your SIM card without your permission and quickly inform your bank of what happened,” the OCU advises.
Then, call your banking institution and report the possible theft of identity, they might be able to temporarily freeze your account until you go in person to change any codes that may have been compromised and any verification systems that may help you avoid this in the future. Just remember to take your ID with you as well as other proofs of identity that will allow them to verify your story.
And last, but by no means least, scrub your online and physical presence for any leaks that may have led them to your identity. While this is not your fault, you still need to do your best to prevent anything from happening to your belongings, so take your job seriously.