Here's how you can protect yourself from Sim-swap fraud

Scammers can simply change the SIM card synced to your smartphone and access your bank details

Cyber criminals can access your your confidential financial details through your smartphones by 'sim-swapping'.

A SIM-swap scam is a fraud that takes place when scammers are able to exploit a weakness in two-factor authentication and verification which involves a text message (SMS) or call to your mobile phone number.

Accessing your bank account requires users to use a text-based two-factor authentication which means you need to add your user name and password after which the bank sends you an access code.

However, hackers simply change the SIM card synced to your smartphone by calling your mobile carrier, acting like you and claiming to have lost the damaged SIM card and ask for a new activated SIM card which is in full control of the scammer.



Here social media research, malware, the dark web and most importantly the data they have collected from phishing emails comes in handy.

Once they are in then there is nothing stopping them from taking advantage of everything that is on your smartphone.

How do they get your money?

They often set up a second bank account in your name that requires less security check and therefore transfers from your account to another doesn’t ring any bells.

Fraudsters can also access your social media profiles and pictures and discover personal messages which could cost you more than money lost.

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This type of hacking is more common than you think recently, Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter was a target of SIM-swapping.

His phone number was taken control over and then the hackers went on to tweet offensive messages from his account for 15 minutes.

Here are three other signals you may be a victim of SIM swapping;

The first red flag is when you are unable to push text messages and calls, this could mean that the fraudsters deactivated your SIM and are using your phone number.

If your smartphone carrier notifies you that new SIM card has been activated on a new device and the login credentials you use no longer works.

How can you protect yourself from SIM swap scams?

You should be cautious against phishing emails, boost your account security with a strong password and security code and if your smartphone carrier allows then you should set a separate code.

You could use Google Authenticator which equips you with two-factor authentication but ties to your physical device rather than your phone number.

Moreover, pay attention to user alerts sent by your bank along with additional checks when SIM cards are reissued.

This article originally published on Norton AntiVirus.