Sim Swap Fraud

Sim Swap Fraud

Sim Swap Fraud

SIM Swap is a type of fraud that centers around taking over a victim’s phone number and using the same to carry out mobile banking transactions or to receive One Time Passwords (OTPs) that authenticate other forms of digital transactions (internet and mobile banking). This feature is common where one has lost their phone or where their SIM card is dropped from the mobile phone operator network due to a line replacement by a fraudster.

Fraudsters contact the victim’s mobile phone operator and use social engineering techniques to convince the telephone company to provide a new SIM for the victim’s phone number to the fraudster. A common method is to impersonate them and claim that they have lost their phone. If successful, the mobile phone operator approves the SIM swap.

Once this happens, the victim’s phone will lose connection to the network, and the fraudster will receive all the SMS and voice calls intended for the victim. This allows the fraudster to intercept any OTPs sent via SMS or telephone calls sent to the victim, circumventing any security features of accounts (i.e., bank accounts, social media accounts, etc.) that rely on SMS or telephone calls as a security factor.

In some cases, the fraudster accesses your mobile bank account with the new SIM and initiates financial transactions.

How to protect yourself

One of the main concerns of SIM Swap fraud is the fact that it is near impossible to detect it before or as it happens. You can only tell when you lose network connectivity, resulting in an inability to receive or make calls or messages.

It is wise to always act swiftly to minimize the amount of damage. Immediately report the matter to the mobile operator and other relevant agencies. Inform the bank as soon as you have any suspicions.

As a preventive control, avoid sharing too much personal data online or with strangers. Also, check on what alerts can be set up to identify any attempts to access your bank account.