Have you received a message from friends in group chats regarding SIM Swap Frauds? The circulated WhatsApp message claims that hundreds of people have been affected. But is this really happening?
What is a SIM Swap Fraud and how does it work?
Before stealing your number, scammers gather as much personal information on you as possible through earlier phishing attacks or social engineering.
Scammers will then impersonate you when contacting your mobile phone’s carrier, asking them to port your telephone number to the criminal’s device. Once the request is completed, all phone calls and texts that are supposed to go to you will be received on the scammers’ device.
This gives scammers full control over your phone number, hence, the ability to take advantage of the two-factor authentication and verification. At this point, you would realise that you have lost access to your mobile number.
Once scammers log into your bank account, the verification code that should be sent to your smartphone is now accessible to the fraudster because this code is now sent to the smartphone or other devices possessed by scammers.
Signs of the scam
- You will receive a call claiming to be from your mobile service provider.
- Scammers will try to get you to reveal your 20-digit SIM card number.
- You will receive an SMS from your mobile service provider to confirm the swap. If you have past this point, there’s no return. So this is the last chance to stop the scammer from getting access.
- Once confirmed, your SIM card will stop working and the scammer will have access to your mobile number.
Myths to debunk
- SIM Swap is not an act of hacking your phone.
- SIM Swap attacks do not empty bank accounts.
SIM Swap grants them access to one-time passwords (OTO) which allows them to change passwords to their bank accounts, social media accounts etc.
This is damaging but it doesn’t mean that your bank account will immediately be wiped out. They still need to have your bank login details. However, if they have your login details from phishing scams, getting access to your OTP would complete their objective of transferring your funds out.
What will they do with your number?
Stealing money from your bank account through a SIM swap is not an easy task. They have to gather information through other methods first and cheating your friends and family would be so much easier.
With your phone number, they can access your social media accounts as well as instant messaging apps. They will impersonate you and message your contact list asking for help. The money that they transfer will go directly to the scammers, or their mules (people who rent their bank accounts to scammers).
