SIM card swap fraud is a creative scam that cybercriminals use to exploit mobile activity. These scams have been on the rise since as far back as 2017, aimed at profitable victims that have been specifically targeted. In 2018, eight members of parliament lost money to hackers on duplicated SIM cards. The members of parliament had pinned this type of fraud on the Uganda Communications Commission’s (UCC) inability to put ample measure to deal with sim card hacking and mobile money fraud.
ALSO READ: SIM card swap fraud Explained
It is a type of fraud that involves a cybercriminal replacing an existing number of a telecom company’s clients with a new SIM card. It’s a way cunning attackers are attempting to gain access to their target’s cell phone communications.
Since most online services these days are tied to people’s phone numbers, the technique has the potential to ruin victims’ lives. The communication regulator needs to create new rules that would help prevent SIM swapping scams and port-out fraud, both of which are techniques designed to hijack people’s phone numbers and identities.
SIM swapping is a technique wherein a bad actor convinces a wireless carrier to transfer a victim’s service to a phone they control. When a bad actor successfully transfers the victim’s service and number to another carrier, that’s called port-out fraud.
To make it harder for scammers to gain control of potential victims’ phone numbers, the UCC needs to require network service providers to adopt more secure methods in authenticating a person’s identity before agreeing to transfer their service to a new phone or to another carrier. The commission also needs to propose rules that would require providers to notify customers whenever a SIM switch or a port-out request is made on their accounts.
As a consumer, there are things you could do the help safeguard yourself against SIM swap scams.
- Make an effort to become familiar with existing fraudulent activities by reading appropriate blogs and newspaper articles so that you are well versed with the many tricks fraudsters use to victimize people. So when you see that fraudster’s SMS arrive in your inbox, you know it’s nonsense.
- Don’t put important information about yourself on public profiles. This information can be used to make false identification that could ease the SIM swap process for the fraudsters.
- Don’t switch off your phone when you receive multiple unknown calls however tempting it might be. This is a fraudsters ploy to have you out of the picture so you don’t realize anything strange going on with your handset.
- Consider joining a telecom company that gives better security to clients when it comes to fraudulent activities. Also, consider banks that offer robust security if you are to use cellphone banking.
