How to prevent SIM Swapping, the scam that clones chips and gains access to bank accounts – D1SoftballNews.com

US authorities have detected an increase in SIM swapping cases. It is a fraud based on social engineering that allows criminal acts to be committed.

That is why it is important to know it, to know how it works and take a series of recommendations so as not to be a victim of a crime.

What is SIM swapping

SIM exchange or SIM swapping includes duplicate SIM card smartphone. The SIM card or Subscriber Identity Module in a mobile phone stores the customer access code and the phone number of the telephone company.

This organization used techniques such as phishing and the smishing (via SMS) to impersonate a trusted person or company to obtain information from the victim, such as password, credit card data or copies of identity documents.

Then, with this information, they communicated with the telephone company pretending to be legitimate users and in this way obtain a new SIM card with the same telephone number.

How are SIM cards duplicated?

The danger of SIM swapping is that you do not need physical access to the mobile device to clone the SIM card. To do this, the cyber criminals they contact the customer service of telephone operators and pose as legitimate users.

If successful, you will get a new SIM card and you will be able to access sensitive information stored on it (contacts, passwords, bank details, etc.). In this way, they will hijack the victims phone line and use all their information, such as requesting a new password and obtaining a verification code to access your online banking.

How to know if you are a victim of SIM-swapping

Camilo Gutirrez Amaya, head of the ESET research laboratory for Latin America, explains that the first sign is the loss of network signal in mobile phones. In fact, when criminals activate SIM cards in their devices, traffic from legitimate users is automatically disabled.

On Latin America This problem also exists. On ArgentinaIn 2021 and so far in 2020, several cases have been reported of victims who say they have suffered money theft as a result of the cloning of the chip.

Last month, for example, a person lost the money they had deposited in their bank account after accessing a Procrear credit. In November 2021, another case was known in which criminals stole access to WhatsApp and social media What Instagram and Facebook.

How to prevent duplicate SIM card

In order to avoid duplication of SIM rates, practice the following tips (and the sooner the better):

Companies do not ask to share personal data by phone, text message services or email. In such situations, contacting the legal entity will help prevent potential scams.

In the event that there is an interruption of the abnormal telephone line, said irregularity must be brought to the attention of the company as soon as possible.

If possible, avoid two-factor authentication via SMS and use options like stand-alone authenticators instead.

Secure destruction of sensitive printed information to prevent SIM swapping and dumpster diving.

In addition, when contacting the operator, it is very important to ask to check the status of the SIM card.

Finally, any suspicious movement in an account must be reported to the bank immediately.

Do not use an easy-to-remember date or number as a PIN or verification code.

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How to prevent SIM Swapping, the scam that clones chips and gains access to bank accounts - D1SoftballNews.com