The nightmare started for Dan Clark with just this message on his phone ‘No service, SIM card.’ By the time he figured out what the Hell that was and what it meant, his money and finances were GONE! The cracker worked frantically to wipe out Clark’s accounts, including his retirement and investments in cryptocurrency.
The FBI says it's a a sophisticated scheme the FBI warns is sweeping the country. In 2021, the FBI received 1,611 SIM swapping complaints, representing $68 million in losses to consumers. All these criminals are doing is making mobile carriers transfer your SIM, basically your phone number, to a device they control. It could be impersonating you or, in some cases, paying off a phone carrier employee. How insane is that right???
Here's how the FBI says it works “Once the SIM is swapped, the victim’s calls, texts and other data are diverted to the criminal’s device,” the FBI said. “This access allows criminals to send ‘Forgot Password’ or ‘Account Recovery’ requests to the victim’s email and other online accounts associated with the victim’s mobile telephone number.
Dan was a T-Mobile customer. T-Mobile confirms his SIM was swapped numerous times. He even managed to regain access to his phone and asked for an alert on his account to stop swaps but it didn't help.
Here's what the FBI recommends you do:
- Do not advertise information about financial assets, including ownership or investment of cryptocurrency, on social media websites and forums.
- Do not provide your mobile number account information over the phone to representatives that request your account password or pin. Verify the call by dialing the customer service line of your mobile carrier.
- Avoid posting personal information online, such as mobile phone number, address, or other personal identifying information.
- Use a variation of unique passwords to access online accounts.
- Be aware of any changes in SMS-based connectivity.
- Use strong multi-factor authentication methods such as biometrics, physical security tokens, or standalone authentication applications to access online accounts.
- Do not store passwords, usernames, or other information for easy login on mobile device applications.
.photo: getty images