Watch out! SIM Swappers are now going after your eSIM and your money

Watch out! SIM Swappers are now going after your eSIM and your money،

You may remember the problem with SIM Swappers. These are the guys or guys who wander into the outlet of the mobile operator you use, pretend to be you and ask for a new SIM card. Any excuse will do, and they might say the dog ate the old one. The thief therefore collects a new SIM card for your account and inserts it into a burner phone that he bought just for this occasion. In just a few minutes, the thief has your apps on his burner phone, changes your financial app passwords, and steals your money.

In the meantime, you have noticed that your phone is no longer working and have received a notification that a SIM card change has been approved for your line. If this ever happens to you and you haven't requested a new SIM card, call your operator immediately to report it because time is running out.

With eSIM, a SIM card swap becomes a little easier for thieves to carry out

According to Computer beeping, SIM swappers are now using eSIMs on compatible phones to carry out their SIM swapping scams. First of all, let's say what an eSIM is. This is an integrated subscriber identity module that is built into your phone and does not come out of it. Once you ask your carrier to activate an eSIM, they will email you a QR code that can be used to connect your phone to your network. It works just like a physical SIM card and authenticates your phone and your identity to your wireless network.

If you ever see a notification like this on your phone, call your wireless service provider immediately!

Russian cybersecurity firm FACCT says that in the United States and around the world, SIM swappers are turning to eSIMs to steal phone numbers and bypass protections that some rely on to protect their financial applications from hackers. intrusions. A FACCT press release states: “Since fall 2023, FACCT fraud protection analysts have recorded more than a hundred attempts to access customers' personal accounts in online services. a single financial organization. »

The press release adds: “To steal access to a mobile number, criminals use the function of replacing or restoring a digital SIM card: transferring the phone from the victim's 'SIM card' to their own device with an eSIM.

In the past, thieves using the old SIM Swap scam would pay an intern at a wireless service provider to hand over a physical SIM card to a thief without asking to verify the customer's information. Beeping Computer explains how this is easier to do these days thanks to eSIMs.

Once a thief has your SIM card in his burner phone, he can wipe you out quickly

First, the thief breaches a user's mobile account using stolen, brute-forced, or leaked credentials. The thief then transfers the victim's credentials and initiates porting the victim's number to another device belonging to the thief. This is done by using the victim's mobile account to request a QR code to activate an eSIM. The burner phone scans the code and that is all that is needed. The legitimate phone is disabled.

Once a scammer uses your eSIM on their phone, they may try to scam more money using your messaging app by pretending to be you, telling friends and family members that you have been the victim of a SIM swap and asking them for money to fix the problem. you are finished.

To prevent this from happening, experts suggest using complex and unique passwords for your cell service account. And enable two-factor authentication (2FA) if possible. With 2FA, in addition to entering your password to sign in to an app, you'll need to provide a code that will be texted to your phone after you try to sign in. You will need to enter the correct code as well as the correct password to be able to log in to the application.