Reports about SIM swapping scams are going up. How can someone protect themselves from this scam?
A 48-year-old man from Daly City claims to have lost around $27,000 of Bitcoin in a SIM swapping crypto scam.
KTVU FOX 2 states that the unnamed man called Daly City police on January 14, reported that he received a text from a person pretending to be a representative from telecommunications provider T-mobile, who stated that his account was frozen after several attempts were made to change his password.
He then later received a call from a blocked number. The caller identified himself as an operator for Ledger, the crypto wallet hardware company holding the man’s Bitcoin, informing him that his account has been compromised. The caller extracted his passcode and anonymous account identification numbers.
It was all the information that the hacker needed to get into the man’s crypto wallet. When he checked his Ledger account, the man later saw that all of his funds (around $27,000 in BTC) had been stolen.
What is SIM Swapping?
SIM swapping is not new in the crypto world. The technique involves scammers enticing mobile network companies to reassign the victim’s phone number from the victim’s SIM to one held by the scammer. Once reassigned, the victim can now exploit two-step security verification techniques to reset the victim’s passwords and then acquire access to their online accounts.
How do they target crypto users? The incident from Daly City is not the first time SIM swapping scammers have stolen large amounts of crypto. In 2019, two men from Massachusetts had handled an extensive SIM swapping scheme to extort $550,000 from around ten people; most of them were from California and are working in crypto.
Another high-profile SIM swapping scam was uncovered last year after a leak jeopardized the personal information of Canadian crypto exchange Coinsquare’s users and left it all in the hands of the hackers, who stated that they planned to use the stolen data for a large-scale SIM swapping scam.
So far, the biggest reported SIM swapping scam occurred in 2018 when Ellis Pinsky, who was only 15 at that time, allegedly defrauded US crypto investor Michael Terpin of $23.8M in crypto.
How can you protect yourself from SIM swapping? When someone has been successfully targeted by SIM swapping scammers, there is nothing much to do about it. But prevention techniques can increase the security of one’s profile. Networks like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon offer the ability to add a PIN code to the wireless account, giving an extra layer of security.
Additionally, try to limit the amount of data to share in online footprints, as scammers rely on open-source data to convince network carriers they are the rightful account holder. Be watchful of unsolicited emails or texts that ask for personal information – as they could be a scammer “phishing” for online information. Also, consider third-party authentication apps like Google authenticator.
Don’t talk to strangers, everyone!
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