The Buyt Desk
Fraudsters are on the lookout for new ways to attack your bank account. SIM Swap is the new way of fooling the consumers. Many banks have come out with a warning against SIM Swap frauds asking users to be extra cautious. It is important that you are alert whenever you conduct online money transactions especially when you use your mobile phone to make or receive payment. All your personal information is connected and the cybercriminals just need to extract few details and can easily join the dots to swipe your account clean.
It’s important to keep your mobile phone safely
Your mobile number is as important as the banking PIN. You receive all the passwords and code related to any financial transaction on your phone. OTP (One Time Password) of every transaction comes, important information like Secure Code, Bank Updates, Unique Registration Number (URN) all these are notified on your phone. All the information related to your bank account is available on your phone. We are operating most of our banking transaction through our phone number. All of us have downloaded banking apps on our phone and every transaction is just a click away. So your phone becomes the storehouse of all the important transaction-related activities and if your phone lands in a fraudsters hand chances are that your bank account will suffer a massive injury.
How does SIM Swap Fraud work?
SIM Swap fraudsters want access to your phone. For this, they either copy your SIM or issue a duplicate SIM on your behalf and hack into your account. It takes place in two-step- first, a phishing attack using Trojan or Malware is launched. This will give them basic information about your bank account number and registered phone number. Secondly, they approach your telecom service provider pretending to be you and place a request for a new SIM. Another way of swapping the SIM is sending a fake message of SIM upgrade and then make a call to you. They will ask you to follow a few steps for enabling a new upgraded SIM. This may end up in switching off your phone. Because when a request for a new SIM is placed the old SIM gets deactivated. This gives the fraudster time to misuse your SIM.
How to avoid SIM Swap fraud?
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Do not ever share your banking details anywhere especially on phone calls and unknown websites.
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Be very alert about your mobile phone details and do not agree to a SIM upgrade kind of procedure when someone calls. Do call your telecom operator and cross-check if any such service is being carried out or not.
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Whenever you receive a banking alert do check it. Also, request email notification simultaneously. Just in case your phone is silent or switched off, you will also get the notification of any banking transaction through your mail.
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Some times these fraudsters call repeatedly so that you get annoyed and turn off the phone silent. This is done to just divert your attention so you don’t look into your phone for some time
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Keep a check of your bank statement from time to time.
