Sometimes scammers are able to learn enough about you through social engineering, that they can make changes to accounts you own and gain access. One more intricate scam we are seeing right now involves your cellphone company.
Scams This Week 9/20/22
September 20, 2022
SIM Swap: First what is a SIM Card? It is also known as a subscriber identity module. This small card has a chip your smartphone needs to send texts, make calls, etc. This chip holds most of the information on your phone. So if a scammer gets control of your SIM card it is like they are holding your phone in their hand.
This is a targeted attack and it is done by social engineering your mobile phone carrier. The scammer has already gained enough information about you, to trick your mobile phone carrier into adding a phone number and or activating a new SIM Card. This can give the scammer control over everything on your phone including all your mobile apps, mobile banking, email, cryptocurrency wallet, social media, or whatever is on your cell phone the scammer would want access to. They can also change to lock you out. Even if you have two-factor authentication set up to send a text, call, or notification to your cellular phone, the scammer will receive that information instead. You will no longer be receiving any texts or calls.
To stop this from happening it’s important to boost your security with your cell phone company. You can add a PIN for any communications and set up a requirement of going into a store for certain changes.
Contact: Boise Police Media Relations