Imagine the following: You are sitting at home one night after dinner, perhaps watching a movie or reading a book. Occasionally you check your smartphone for any new texts or emails, maybe even social media or the news. At some point in the evening — you can't be sure exactly when — the small signal bars at the top of your screen disappear. You switch off Wi-Fi and find that you have no service from your cell provider. Strange. Maybe there are some issues with the network tonight? You are sure it will be fine tomorrow. In the morning you go out for a run, and midway through, you stop to check messages. You have none and no signal either. When you get home, you call your provider and wait approximately 45 minutes to speak to a person. At that point, you are told that as of last night, your cell number was transferred to someone else. You've now been the victim of a SIM hijack, one of the most insidious and potentially devastating ways hackers take advantage of people today.
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is one of the best ways to protect yourself online. Enabling 2FA on an account requires the service provider, such as your bank, social media company, Google or Microsoft to send you a text message with a one-time code in addition to your regular username and login. Someone gets your password to Gmail and tries to log in? No problem. Google sends you a text message with a one-time code. The hacker does not have your phone and, thus, cannot complete the second factor to authenticate. Somebody gets the credentials to your Coinbase account where your cryptocurrency is held? Again, no problem. But what if the hacker had access to your cell number and was able to intercept that one-time code? That is when SIM hijacking comes into play.
SIM swapping/hijacking occurs when a hacker calls or visits your cell carrier and convinces them to port, or transfer, your cell number to a SIM card they control. It's not just hackers who are able to do this. Sometimes cell company insiders are responsible as well. The sobering reality is that if this occurs, there is not a lot you can do at this point. Phone numbers were never really meant to verify identity. And like any kind of technology, hackers will always find ways to exploit it and take advantage of weaknesses in the process. The key is preventing a SIM hijack in the first place.
Once a hacker transfers your cell number to their SIM, they have, for all intents and purposes, the keys to the kingdom. They can potentially reset your passwords to online accounts with your phone number in hand. Your bank website received a "forgot password" email from the hacker. The bank sends a text message with a code to your cell number, the hacker responds, and your bank password is now changed and controlled by the attacker.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to prevent this type of hack:
1. Instead of a text message for 2FA, use an authenticator app. Google and Microsoft make excellent apps for this.
2. Don't ever reply to suspect text, email or voice messages.
3. Limit personal information that is shared online.
4. All major carriers allow you to set a PIN or passcode on your account. Do it. Today. The process is simple. You can do this online via your account page or contact your carrier directly.
If you are the target of a SIM hack, contact your provider immediately to take back control of your number. Once this is completed, change all account passwords.
Finally, if you think someone has your information — like your Social Security, credit card or bank account number — go to the Federal Trade Commission website for the specific steps you should take.
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June 11, 2020 at 07:47PM
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How To Stop SIM Swapping Before It Occurs - Forbes
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