SIM swap fraud, also known as SIM hijacking or SIM card swapping, is a type of identity theft where a fraudster convinces a mobile carrier to transfer a victim's phone number to a SIM card under the fraudster's control.
Here's how it typically works:
1. **Social Engineering**: The fraudster gathers personal information about the victim, often through social engineering techniques such as phishing emails, pretexting, or data breaches.
2. **Contacting the Carrier**: The fraudster contacts the victim's mobile carrier, impersonating the victim or claiming to have lost their phone, and requests a SIM card replacement or transfer.
3. **Activation of New SIM Card**: Once the carrier verifies the fraudster's identity (which may be based on the stolen personal information), they deactivate the victim's original SIM card and activate the new one provided by the fraudster.
4. **Taking Control**: With the victim's phone number now associated with the new SIM card controlled by the fraudster, the fraudster can receive all calls, texts, and authentication messages intended for the victim.
5. **Exploiting Accounts**: The fraudster can then exploit this access to reset passwords, access online accounts, and perform unauthorized transactions, effectively taking control of the victim's digital identity.
SIM swap fraud can lead to significant financial losses, data breaches, and other forms of identity theft. To mitigate the risk of SIM swap fraud, individuals should take precautions such as enabling PIN or password protection for their mobile carrier accounts, monitoring account activity closely, and being cautious about sharing personal information online or over the phone. Additionally, some carriers offer extra security measures, such as requiring an in-person visit to a store or providing additional verification steps before processing SIM card replacement requests.