Do you know that your bank account could be cleared without an alert?
Continue reading to learn more about it and how to prevent it.
Please, let’s be very careful. There is a new high-tech fraud in town called the SIM swap scam, and hundreds of people are already victims.
What Exactly Is a Sim-Swap?
A SIM-swap attack is a trick hackers use to threaten their victim’s life. It happens that they call your cell phone company, pretend to be you, and convince the customer care representative that they are you. They will probably tell how they lost their sim and would like the old sim details to be transferred to a new sim. If they convince you, the mobile carrier agent will innocently share the details of your SIM card with the hacker’s new number.
The hackers now have access to all of the accounts linked to your phone, which might mean a variety of things, none of which are good for your health. Not only that, but you will also be logged out. Although you are the legitimate owner, access to the property has been given to someone else.
All of your bookmarks, payment methods, and saved passwords will be visible to them in Chrome. Sim-swapping also entails that hackers may view all of your installed applications, read your private email conversations, gain access to your Google Photos backups of your photographs and paper wallets, and much more than you can now recall.
It might not entirely be your fault, but you will suffer the most. Needless to say, you should pay attention to everything I will discuss in this piece.
5 ways to detect and prevent SIM swap attacks
There are some signs that can help the victim detect a SIM swap even before the perpetrator contacts the mobile operator. Considering how the attack is executed, it is important to keep an eye out for the following activities:
1. Suspicious email or text messages
Messages or calls asking for personal information or including a link may be an attempt at phishing by the fraudster to collect the potential victim’s data before launching the SIM swap attack.
2. Constant calls and text messages
To prevent the victim from realizing that they have been targeted with a SIM swap attack, many criminals use the tactic of disturbing the person as much as possible with calls and messages to get them to turn off their device.
3. Inability to make calls or send messages
One of the first signs of a successful SIM swap attack is when the SIM card no longer works in the victim’s device.Therefore, the victim is no longer able to make calls or send messages.
4. Notifications of suspicious activity
In some cases, the victim may receive an email notification from the mobile operator itself confirming the SIM card activation process on another device. Alternatively, a company may also send an alert if it identifies unusual activity on the customer’s account.
5. Denied access to accounts and applications
If a user is unexpectedly logged out of their accounts, there is a good chance their phone number is being used by a different SIM card. It may be too late, but if the user acts fast, the damage could be lower.
How can you protect against SIM swap scams?
Fortunately, there are ways in which you and your service providers can help protect against becoming victims of SIM swap fraud.
- Online behavior: Beware of phishing emails and other ways attackers may try to access your personal data to help them convince your bank or cell phone carrier that they are you. Don’t click on links in email messages from people you don’t know. And remember, your bank, cable provider, credit card company, or other service providers won’t ask for your personal or financial information through an email message.
- Account security: Boost your cellphone’s account security with a unique, strong password and strong security questions and answers that only you know.
- PIN codes: If your phone carrier allows you to set a separate passcode or PIN for your communications, consider doing so. It could provide an additional layer of protection.
- IDs: Don’t build your security and identity authentication solely around your phone number. This includes text messaging (SMS), which is not encrypted.
- Authentication apps: You can use an authentication app like Google Authenticator to provide two-factor authentication that is tied to your physical device rather than your phone number.
- Alerts from your bank and mobile carrier: See if your banks and mobile carriers can collaborate by sharing their knowledge of SIM swap activity and implementing user alerts as well as additional checks when SIM cards are reissued, for example.
- Behavioral analysis technology: Banks can use technology that analyzes customer behavior to help customers discover compromised devices and warn them not to send SMS passwords.
- Call-backs: Some organizations call customers back to make sure they are who they say they are—aand to catch identity thieves.
SIM swapping is one reason why a phone number may not be the best verifier of your identity. It’s a breachable authenticator. Adding additional layers of protection could help keep your accountsriand your identityntity. It’s a breachable authenticator. Adding additional layers of protection could help keep your accounts—and your identity—safe.
The risk here is that you will not receive any transaction alerts, so please, those of us who use USSD Banking and Mobile Banking, BEWARE.
Let’s be very careful.
Please forward this message to your contacts, loved ones, and friends. The rate of fraud is increasing by the day.
received from a cyber security group.
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