What is SIM Swapping Fraud: Meaning, Risks & Prevention Tips

Posted on: Jul 3, 2024 | 3 mins | Written by: HDFC ERGO Team

What is SIM Swapping Fraud: Meaning, Risks & Prevention Tips

Nowadays most of the tasks have been digitised and your smartphone is apt enough to fulfil most of those tasks. Providing your phone number is enough to complete several tasks. This phone number is decided by the SIM card that your phone carries. This makes it evident that the SIM card is the locker house of your personal and financial information.

To ensure effective control against cybercrimes, you can maintain cyber insurance, cyber insurance for family, or even cyber insurance for shopaholic, if you are too much into online shopping. This acts as a protective shield and compensates for the losses and damages incurred due to any cybercrime. However, your personal cautiousness is above everything.

What is SIM swapping?

SIM swapping is a scamming technique that effectively tricks your carrier into sending your calls and messages to the scamsters, including account verification codes and password recovery. If this SIM swapping enables them to crack into your bank account, it can have devastating effects.

The scamsters hijack their targeted victim’s phone number and remotely switch his/her service to another SIM card that they can access and control. The chief target of SIM swapping is to exploit the Two-factor authentication security and gain unauthorised and illegal access to bank accounts.

Every SIM card maintains an individual identifier. This is what by which mobile networks tend to verify subscriptions and deliver the messages and calls to the concerned device. But, if you are a victim of SIM swapping, your cellular account is intentionally linked to a separate SIM card, and all the incoming network traffic gets automatically diverted to another SIM.

SIM swapping is also termed as “SIM card hacking” or “SIM jacking”. This is a type of identity theft which eventually results in cyber scammers phishing your personal details.

What role does social media play in SIM swap fraud?

The scammers and fraudsters are very active on social media platforms to gain as much information as possible about their potential targets. They tend to directly message on Instagram or Facebook accounts from fake profiles and feign fraud interest to get your bank details in some manner.

It is best to block and delete any message received from any unknown sources. Do not accept unknown friend requests or message requests. It is best to avoid excessive interaction with strangers on social media and sharing too much personal information on such popular public platforms.

How to prevent SIM swapping?

SIM swapping can be prevented by exercising personal caution and alertness. You can follow these steps to prevent SIM swapping:

1. Avoid sharing personal details:

Avoid sharing personal details like DOB, contact number, address, etc. on social media platforms. Most scammers secretly cyberstalk their potential targets for a significant period before striking.

2. Ignore messages and calls asking for personal information:

Always ignore calls and messages that ask for too much personal information like DOB, login credentials, PINs, passwords, bank account details, etc. Avoid clicking on any unverified links.

3. Enhance your account security:

To ensure enhanced account security, you can opt for biometrics and face identification as a more reliable security measure.

4. Use PINs:

Use your phone’s settings to alter the default SIM password or PIN. This means that if a scamster needs to swap your SIM, they will need the PIN, irrespective of all the information they possess.

5. Set up IDs without phone numbers:

Try to establish IDs without phone numbers. You can use your email address or simply the concerned plugged-in device, bearing a unique identifier.

6. Establish mobile and bank carrier alerts:

You can establish alert notifications on your cell carrier or bank accounts to inform you regarding any activity. This may prevent SIM swapping damages.

7. Go phoneless:

If you maintain any superbly sensitive account, it is best to keep it phoneless, i.e., avoid linking it with any phone number.

8. Authentication apps:

Rather than authenticating through your cellular service, you can use Google authenticator. It is non-transferable and remains protected by either biometrics or PIN. This makes it difficult to exploit.

SIM swap fraud: a preventable attack

SIM swap fraud can be prevented by exercising personal caution and alertness. You need to keep certain things in mind to prevent such attacks:

1. You must be aware and beware of several social engineering tactics like smishing, phishing, vishing, etc. They target to steal your personal details and hack your financial database or even indulge in identity theft.

2. If your mobile number suddenly becomes inactive or goes out of range without any reason, you must contact your cell service provider immediately.

3. Under such circumstances, it is best to change your bank account password too to avoid devastating financial consequences.

4. It is best to register for e-mail and SMS alerts for every banking transaction you make. Even if your SIM gets deactivated, you can continue receiving alerts over your registered email.

5. Monitor your bank statements at regular intervals, preferably once every month, to ensure that all the transactions have been initiated and made by you only.

6. In the case of SIM swapping fraud, contact the phone banking services of your banking partner immediately and request to block your account to avoid any further damage.

FAQs

1. What are the signs of a SIM swap?

Some of the signs that may reveal that you are a victim of SIM swap include, the inability to make/send calls/messages, notification regarding activity taking place somewhere else, inability to access accounts, and discovering transactions not initiated by you.

2. How to protect against SIM swap scams?

You can prevent SIM swap scams by modifying your online behaviour, refraining from sharing too much personal information on social media, ensuring enhanced account security, establishing PINs, IDs, and passwords, allowing Google authentication, mobile and bank carrier alerts, and requesting call-backs.

Conclusion

Since mobile phones have become an indispensable part of our regular lives these days, the risk of exploitation of personal information has also increased. However, if you keep yourself informed regarding the types of hacks and scams, and ensure proper cautiousness, you can prevent such frauds to a considerable extent. Limit the exposure of your personal details in the public domain and you can avoid a lot of hassles.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purposes only. For more details, please refer to the policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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