SIM swap attacks are real and pose a huge threat to your livelihood. Once a thief gains access to your mobile account, he can easily take over the apps you use, even the ones for banking and financial transactions.
Recently, there was a report about an entire family who fell victim to a SIM swap attack. The family’s Cricket Wireless account, which consisted of five phones, was taken over by thieves. After gaining access to the accounts, the thief was able to steal their money. Even though the attack happened four months ago, the family continues to feel the impact of the theft.
In response to the report, Cricket has assured its customers that they have security measures in place, which are designed to prevent such attacks. Nevertheless, they “work closely with law enforcement, our industry, and consumers to help prevent this type of crime.” The AT&T prepaid brand says they “take these matters seriously.”
Since these types of attacks are becoming more frequent, Cricket says that it is already “building tools to make it harder for someone to pretend to be you.” They are also providing their employees with training for recognizing fraud attempts. Lastly, they are also “developing enhanced authentication methods.”
Cricket isn’t the only one prone to such attacks. Other carriers continue to be at risk. As a user, it’s best that you frequently change your password and avoid using birth dates as a PIN.
Source: PhoneArena
