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Saturday, July 21, 2018

SIM Swap Fraud: 13 things you must know about this online banking scam


A cyberfraud called ‘SIM Swap’ has tricked several people across the country. Not really new, the scam going for months now continues to claim victims across the country. The cybercells of Police departments in cities like Kolkata, Bengaluru and Delhi have already reported several instances of ‘SIM Swap’. This new fraudulent method is used by criminals to trick gullible smartphone users who end up losing money in matter of minutes.
And if you think that only digitally-illiterate people fall prey to this scam, you got it wrong. Several tech-savvy urban youths too have ended up falling for this cyberfraud. In fact, criminals have devised several ways to commit ‘SIM Swap’ frauds. Here we look at one of the most common technique used to trap people.

SIM Swap is simple and you can be trapped just by sharing information on phone

SIM Swap or simply SIM card exchange is basically registering a new SIM card with your phone number. Once it is done, your SIM card will become invalid and your phone will stop receiving signal. Now, once the miscreants have your phone number, they will get OTPs on their SIM card. With this they can initiate bank transfer and even opt to shop online after getting OTPs.

It all starts with an unknown call claimed to be from Airtel, Vodafone or any other service provider

You will get a call from a person who will pose as an executive from Airtel or Vodafone or Jio or Idea. He or she will then tell you that it’s a routine call to improve call drop problem or signal reception on your phone. He/she can also promise to help you get more mobile data or increase mobile internet speeds or simply can ‘guide’ you to migrate to a 4G SIM card.

Entire conversation will be to get your 20-digit SIM number

The scam caller will try all means to get your unique 20-digit SIM number. Every SIM card has this 20-digit number. Look for it at the back of your SIM card. The scamster will try to convince you share your 20-digit unique number to a phone number to get the desired service (improve call drops or the one stated above).

You will be requested to press 1 or authenticate this Swap

After convincing you to send the unique SIM number, the scamster will tell you to press 1 or simply authenticate the SIM swap. The process over here is that the scamster after obtaining the unique SIM number will initiate the ‘Swap’ with your telecom operator officially. For example, if you have a Vodafone SIM, the scamster will use a new Vodafone SIM to officially process the exchange of SIM card. Now, Vodafone will send a confirmation SMS to your phone number and the scamster would want you to press 1 to authenticate the SIM Swap. With this, Vodafone will understand that you have officially initiated the SIM Swap but then the attacker will end up hijacking your phone number.

Your mobile will stop receiving signal altogether

Once the swap is successful, your SIM card will stop working and you will not get any signal on your phone. On the other hand, the scamster’s new SIM card will get full signal with your mobile number.

How can you lose money if your SIM is hijacked?

It is basically a two-step process. And sadly, SIM Swap is the part two of the fraud process. The scamster, in most cases, already has information about your banking ID and password. All they need is the OTP that you get on your registered mobile number to make financial transactions.

How did they get your banking details beforehand?

This is mostly through phishing attacks. If you happen to open a fake version of your banking website then your details automatically get compromised.

They may ask Aadhaar number to verify your identity. Never ever share Aadhaar number over phone.

Just imagine the possibilities of fraud if the scamsters have got access to your phone number as well as Aadhaar number. These days most services can be accessed using both these together and once your Aadhaar number and phone number is available, it can lead to serious identity theft.

Do not switch off or mute your phone to ignore anonymous calls

In most cases, once the scamster has successfully imitated a SIM Swap, he or she will disturb you so that you get angry and switch off or silent your phone. This is crucial to buy time for scamsters. Usually, telecom operators take around four hours to activate a new SIM. So, the scamster will continuously call you and disturb you so that you either switch off phone or silent it during this 4-hour window. Now, when the Swap is complete you will not even get to know about it.

Senior citizens are prime targets

Sadly, senior citizens who are less digitally literate are the prime targets of these type of scams. It is important to advise them regularly and inform them to strictly not entertain unknown callers.
It is always a healthy habit to keep track of your bank account and balance. Also, keep changing your internet banking password so that you it gets difficult for miscreants. Also, if you notice any suspicious internet banking activity report to your bank immediately to stop the transaction.

SIM Swap is legal and you have also done it

Remember the time when you had shifted from a 2G to 3G or 4G SIM card? You had actually used the same SIM Swap technology to register your new SIM card with the existing phone number instantly from the comfort of your house. Also, the time when you migrated from traditional SIM cards to the new nano SIM cards you had also used this technology.

If it is legal and useful then why is it a problem now?

SIM Swap is a powerful tool and it totally depends with whom you are communicating. In legit SIM exchanges, you are connected to the servers of service providers like Airtel, Vodafone or Idea. These operators have designated official USSD codes for SIM Swap. But the problem arises when you do not directly do it yourself. If you happen to send the unique 20-digit SIM number to someone else then he might initiate the process of exchanging your SIM card. It is all about the unique 20-digit SIM card number. The swapping process simply registers your phone number with the new SIM card that is in the hands of the miscreants.

Source-Postgully.com
used here for public education purposes only

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