An SOS signal on your phone can mean one of two things: you don’t have reception or are the victim of a phone porting scam.
WATCH: James Tobin shows you how to keep your passwords safe
Phone porting is one-way scammers steal people’s identities and money.
What is mobile phone porting fraud?
Mobile porting fraud is when someone gains enough of your information to have your mobile number ported over to another device, gaining access to their bank accounts.
Many have done it before when changing phone companies, which is entirely legitimate.
IDCARE is Australia and New Zealand’s national identity and cyber support service. Their website says: “An Unauthorised Port occurs when a criminal contacts a different telephone provider, sets up an account with them and requests your number brought over from your current provider.
The website adds: “Once a mobile number has been successfully taken over, criminals will receive your text messages, including those containing password resets and verification codes (often referred to as two-factor or multi-factor authentication codes). This gives them access to your existing online accounts, with banking and email accounts being major targets.”
What is a SIM swap?
Not to be confused with a sim swap.
IDCARE says a sim swap is “the criminal contacts your existing provider and requests to activation of a new SIM card with your number.”
How common is phone porting fraud?
An article published on the ABC says, “Sim porting is a crime also classified as identity theft, which is ranked by Scamwatch as the third-most common scam this year.”
“Almost 7,000 identity theft cases were reported to Scamwatch in the first four months of this year when Australians lost more than $5 million.”
What to do if you are a victim of a porting hack
IDCARE has some tips on their website if you are a victim of a porting or SIM swap hack:
- Attempt to log in to your internet banking and freeze your accounts asap.
- Disable SMS as a password reset or verification code recovery method (or change the contact number) for online accounts, starting with your email account.
- Contact your telco provider to see what is going on. If your number was ported, ask your phone provider to submit a ‘reversal of an unauthorised port’. If it was a SIM swap, ask them to cancel the SIM.
- Ask your producer what forms of ID were used for this to happen.
- Report it to the police and Scamwatch.
How to protect your details
IDCARE offers some tips for protecting your information.
- Take your birthday off Facebook.
- If you can avoid it, don’t get packages delivered to your home. Australia Post has a free parcel collection available.
- Use multi-factor authentication wherever possible.
- Have a banking app on your phone and know how to freeze your account and cards.
- Check if your financial institution has multi-factor authentication options without using your mobile number for security codes.
- Only click on links in emails or text messages once you verify validity. Phishing scams are rife, and it’s another way criminals steal your information.
You might also like:
How to spot the four most common types of scams
Five ways to stop nuisance callers from dialling your number
The MyGov internet scam you need to know about
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