How to Prevent SIM Swapping Scams and Stay Secure

Ever since the number of mobile phone users increased, cybercriminals have been launching new and advanced methods to break into mobile phones and steal sensitive information. We tend to use our smartphones a lot for all kinds of things, ranging from calling someone and chatting with friends to buying things online and internet banking. While mobiles have made things easier for us, they do expose us to the outside world when we connect to the Internet. Among various cyberattacks, SIM swapping is a prominent one that has been widely used these days.

Significance of a SIM Card

Every mobile phone we use has a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) that distinguishes mobile phone users from one another. Telecom providers provide a unique number and identity via SIM cards. Mobile users register their numbers with banks and other institutions for communication and authentication. All the trust and authenticity depend on the successful verification of OTPs to perform important transactions.

Hackers try to steal the identity of SIMs to perform high-value transactions that may cause the real user to lose money and control over important things. SIM swapping attacks are prominent these days as they provide an easy way to take over the identity of mobile users. As a user’s mobile account is directly linked to their SIM card, having the SIM swapped means the entire control goes to the swapper/fraudster.

What is SIM Swapping?

A SIM swapping attack is a form of identity attack where a hacker convinces a telecom service provider to switch a (victim) user’s phone number to a new device by impersonating the user. They will get a new SIM on behalf of the victim without letting them know about it. Mainly they perform SIM swapping attacks for gaining access to their bank and other service accounts. The victim user will not be aware of the fraud unless their mobile phone services are terminated as a result of transferring the services to another device.

Due to wide prevalence and high dependency on mobile-based authentication methods, the number of SIM swap attacks is increasing drastically. Nowadays, all service providers offer their services only when users use their mobile numbers to create their accounts and authenticate themselves. Through SIM swapping, the fraudster can bar the victim from using their very own accounts & data and can access them without the victim’s knowledge. SIM swapping attacks are on the rise these days and fraudsters are finding it more beneficial than other attacks.

How does SIM Swapping Fraud Occur?

SIM Swapping is possible only when the telecom provider issues a new SIM for the same mobile number. To get a new SIM for the same number, the telecom provider needs certain identity proofs like the user’s name, address, PAN/Adhaar details, etc. These identity proofs indicate that the person applying for a new SIM is the real owner of the mobile number.

Cybercriminals get some or all these details via social engineering attacks like phishing. They reach out to the telecom provider stating that the existing SIM got stolen and convince the provider that they are the real user by providing the victim’s details.

SIM swapping frauds mainly occur due to poor levels of identity verification at the provider’s end. Stealing a victim’s identity is not that easy. The process of identity theft can be divided into the following phases.

Choosing targets

Choosing targets is the first step that cybercriminals take. In this step, they finalize their targets after analyzing a broad range of people based on their vulnerability and the benefits they can bring (how wealthy they are). They tend to choose a specific group of users (e.g., people who have accounts in a particular bank).

Data collection

After shortlisting the targets, cybercriminals start gathering the targets’ data via various means, including the dark web and social engineering attacks (Phishing, Vishing, and Smishing). The dark web hosts numerous amounts of data collected from different data breaches that happened across the world.

Identity theft

After getting data related to a target’s identity, fraudsters are ready to impersonate the victim and claim their identity.

SIM swapping request

At this stage, fraudsters approach the telecom provider of the victim and request for transferring the telecom services to a new SIM. They claim this by showing all the relevant identity proofs, stating the existing SIM theft as a reason.

Control & commit fraud

Once all proofs are submitted by the fraudsters, the telecom company will deactivate the working SIM card and transfer the mobile services to the new SIM card which belongs to the fraudsters. Once the service is activated, they can perform fraudulent activities as all the control gets transferred from the victim to the fraudsters.

As the new duplicate SIM will get all services and authentication authority, the fraudster can manage all banking, social, or official accounts that are linked with the phone number. This whole process is possible because of certain factors that help cybercriminals/fraudsters to bypass the security baseline.

Factors that Help Cybercriminals Perform SIM Swapping

How can SIM swap fraud happen so easily? What factors are essentially helpful in letting SIM swap fraud happen? Well, there are some important factors that are responsible for making SIM swapping scams possible.

Some common factors include

Insider threat

Fraudsters can hire some employees of help centers that assist mobile users of a particular telecom provider. Through these employees, they collect information of their potential targets & even bypass identity checks required for swapping a SIM card.

Inadequate identity verification

Requests for SIM swapping require a thorough investigation to ensure no identity frauds happen. If telecom providers do not have a strict process in place for carrying out identity verification, cybercriminals can easily perform SIM swapping. However, it is hard for the provider to identify who is real and who is fraud when the fraudster has all the information about the customer (victim).

Malware & phishing

Advanced cybercriminals send phishing emails to privileged employees working at the mobile phone company. These phishing emails have malware attached, which gets downloaded if the employees download attachments or click malicious links inside the emails. With the help of malware, they can easily steal operator login details. This makes the process of bypassing the system’s security much easier for them.

How to Know that You are a Victim?

It becomes essential to know if you have become a victim of SIM swapping fraud. How can you detect SIM swapping? Normal mobile users need to look out for some important indications that show they were targeted by cybercriminals.

Some of these indications include

• Your SIM card becomes useless. This means you will not have network access to make calls or send SMS.

• You receive a confirmation from the operator regarding the SIM swapping request via email or SMS.

• Suspicious activity in your accounts (e.g., unauthorized financial transactions, unknown social media activity, etc.)

• Unable to sign in and access your bank accounts and other online accounts.

Measures to Prevent SIM Swapping

There is little that you can do immediately if you already became a victim but you can keep yourself safe from this attack by following some security measures. These measures can help you stay vigilant and informed.

• As SMS data is not encrypted, avoid using SMS as your primary means of communication. This implies that you do not exchange sensitive information via SMS.

• Secure the information that provides access to your online accounts (e.g., login credentials).

• Enable notifications and alerts for any suspicious activity in your accounts.

• Ensure that MFA is enabled for all important accounts such as bank accounts and social media accounts.

• Make use of authentication apps to log in to your online accounts for extra security. Some prominent authenticator apps are Google Authenticator, Authy, and Microsoft Authenticator.

• Avoid providing mobile numbers in accounts that do not require them. Providing mobile numbers unnecessarily will increase your attack surface.

• Refrain from posting sensitive personal information online. This information can be used by cybercriminals to launch an attack against you.

• Be aware of all phishing attempts that are prominently used by attackers and implement security measures to prevent them. To prevent phishing attacks, read how to protect against phishing to stay secure.

• Avoid using your initials and easy-to-guess passwords for login.

• Try to avoid using SMS for authentication, especially for banking transactions (if possible).

• Look out for signs that indicate any suspicious activity, for example, getting no signal in a place where there is a strong signal.

Wrapping Up

Swapping a SIM card is a service that helps mobile users in many situations like when they lose their cell phones or damage their phones. However, the process of swapping a SIM needs to be reviewed, and robust identity checks must be included in the process of verifying the identity of the person requesting the SIM swap. Various news articles are also written to increase awareness among people regarding this attack.

Do test what you have learned from this blog by taking the SIM swapping quiz and share the article as much as possible