Phone hacking rises out of data breach
By Greg Collier
This past August, it was reported that major cell phone carrier T-Mobile had a massive data breach. That breach is said exposed the information of up to 40 million customers. Now, it seems we’re starting to see the fallout from that breach. Tech experts are saying that cases of SIM-swapping are on the rise. By its name, you might think that SIM-swapping involves a scammer having physical possession of your phone so they can steal your phone’s SIM card. However, that’s not the case. SIM-swapping can happen without you even noticing.
SIM-swapping works when a scammer or identity thief uses your information to deactivate your cell phone and transfer your service to the scammer’s phone. This is done when a bad actor calls your cell phone carrier and convinces the carrier to change service to the scammer’s phone. The reason scammers do this is that so many of us have our security safeguards routed through our phones. Many of us who use two-factor authentication do so through text messaging.
For example, let’s say you have 2FA enabled on your bank account. No one can enter your bank account if they don’t receive the text message for your bank account’s authority. If a scammer SIM-swaps your phone, they now have access to those security measures. Not only could SIM-swappers access your accounts, but they could also lock you out of any of your accounts that you access through your phone. They could essentially take over your identity completely through the phone, and you may not notice for a while.
If your phone stops receiving service all of a sudden, that could be a sign you’ve might have been SIM-swapped. There are ways to protect yourself, though. Sharing too much information on social media could lead scammers and identity thieves to the answers to your security questions. You can also contact your cell phone carrier and instruct them to not allow any device switching on your account. You’d be surprised how often scammers are contacting cell phone carriers for one scam or another.
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