In a SIM swapping attack, a hacker takes over the mobile phone number of the real subscriber, by asking the mobile telecom service provider to link that number to a SIM card under the attacker’s control.
What is Sim Swapping?
SIM swap scam, also known as simjacking or SIM swapping, is a scam in which someone tries to take over the victim’s phone number and activate it on their own phone, taking advantage of the two-step verification required by most websites these days, and the activation message arrives on their phone instead of yours.
Procedures for swapping SIM cards exist for valid reasons, such as when the SIM card is missing or damaged. In a SIM swapping attack, the attacker will use social engineering techniques to persuade the telecom operator to perform the SIM switch by pretending to be the real client and saying that the original SIM card is broken or lost.
The legitimate subscriber’s phone will lose connection to the network and will be unable to make or receive phone calls if the attack is successful.
How Will You Know If You Are a Victim of SIM Swap?
The quickest way to find out if your SIM card has been swapped is for your device to lose network connectivity, and you won’t be able to make cellular calls, send texts, or even use roaming data.
Another method to tell is if a scammer tries to use a two-step verification process to gain access to your accounts. Gmail, for example, will notify you if they believe someone shouldn’t have accessed your account.
Another approach to figure it out is if you notice any changes on your social media platforms or other accounts. If you notice transactions or postings that you did not make, it’s possible that someone else is using your account.
How Fraud Occurs When Swapping SIM
It isn’t necessary for the hacker to be close to you and take your phone to replace the SIM, but the scammer will gather enough information about the victim in advance and use that information to contact the victim’s carrier and try to persuade them to transfer the victim’s phone number to a new SIM card that he receives, or the scammer will try to persuade the victim’s carrier to transfer the victim’s phone number to a new SIM card that he receives The SIM card is changed to an eSIM card, so he no longer has to physically get it and instead receives it via e-mail.
How do they manage to do it? Scammers will employ a variety of techniques, including as installing malware on a victim’s device or sending phishing emails in which the scammers pose as customer service and request the information they require.
A far simpler way, such as leveraging social media platforms and discreetly obtaining the information needed to communicate with the carrier, could be used by the fraudster. This is why you should refrain from disclosing too much personal information in any unofficial or untrustworthy talks.
What can I do to prevent SIM swap fraud?
The good news is that you don’t have to wait until you’ve been duped on a SIM exchange to take action. You can begin to ensure that you are protected from these threats.
Before switching your phone number to a different SIM card, talk to your carrier and ask what security measures they have in place to prevent this type of fraud and what kind of information they want.
It is preferable to make your social media profiles more secure and private, as disclosing too much personal information is not only risky, but with recent data breaches on Facebook, you cannot trust any social media platform to keep your information secure. You should also avoid disclosing too much personal information to the majority of individuals, both online and in person.
You can also try opening multiple email accounts and logging into your most critical accounts, such as your bank accounts, using your most private email address, which nearly no one knows about.
Be careful of the emails that come to you. And remember that one method that scammers commonly use is phishing, where they impersonate a legitimate company to get your private information. Phishing is more common and easier than you think, so always avoid giving out sensitive information in any email. Call the company or visit them directly to confirm their identity
