A SIM swap Fraud or scam is also known as port-out scam, SIM splitting attack or simply Smishing. This is a type of fraud that we can classify as account takeover fraud.
How Is Sim Swap Fraud Carried Out?
SIM swapping normally happens when scammers contact your mobile phone’s carrier and trick them into activating a SIM card that the fraudsters have. Once this occurs, the scammers have control over your phone number. Anyone calling or texting this number will contact the scammers’ device, instead of your phone.
This is known as SIM swap fraud, and it means scammers could potentially enter your username and password when logging onto your bank’s website. The bank will then send a code by text — two-factor authentication — to your phone number, a code that you’ll then have to enter to access your online account. Since a swap was done on your card, that message now goes to the phone now possessed by the scammers. They can then use that code to enter your bank account.
Why do Fraudsters do Sim Swapping?
Sim Swapping is a common type of fraud that bypasses the huddle of 2FA. This scam targets a weakness in two-factor authentication and two-step verification. 2FA is a security layer in which the second factor or step is a text message (SMS) or call placed to a mobile telephone. By sim swapping, hackers are able to receive the 2FA SMS on their cloned sim and thus able to login or purchase with stolen Credit Cards.
How Do You Protect Yourself From Sim Swap Fraud?
Fortunately, you can protect yourself against SIM swapping. It’s all about preventing scammers from finding out what logins and passwords you use to access your online bank or credit card accounts. And it helps, too, to look out for the most common warning signs of a SIM swap scam.
