Taking the mobile everywhere and making it the center of our entertainment, our communications, our finances and even our work, has made it the center of attacks of all kinds. When they don’t want to steal our WhatsApp account, they try to steal personal data from us or empty our bank account. And among all the existing methods, there is one that is quite dangerous. Follow us.
In this case, it is not a password theft to access a protected site, but a cloning of our SIM card. SIM swapping. That’s to say, someone creates a duplicate of our card (or requests one under false pretences) and can use it to, for example, listen to our calls, receive messages from our bank or, for example, receive the two-factor authentication code. For convenience, a method of identity theft through our mobile.
Protect SIM card swap
Until the system does not change, if it changes at any time, The SIM card is the most valuable and delicate component of a mobile phone. It is the key to give us access to the network and to be able to make calls or send messages, or surf the Internet, but it is also our ‘DNI’ to receive SMS messages that are intended for us. And send them, of course.
Thus, losing the SIM card and leaving it in the hands of a third party can be a huge risk. But it doesn’t have to be like that, we don’t need to lose the SIM card so they can access our data. They can also clone us and cause us the same problems. This is called “SIM Swapping”.
If someone with sufficient knowledge has access to enough personal data about us, they can contact the telephone company impersonate us and request a duplicate of our SIM card. By the time that second card was activated, ours would automatically be without coverage when it was deactivated, and the number would be in the hands of a third party. Or, worse, to coexist in the event of activation of a multiSIM service, which would make us even more difficult to detect identity theft.
Although there is no foolproof way to prevent this from happening to us, we can take certain steps to limit the risk. For instance:
- Never provide personal data to anyone through calls, links that email or text us and look suspicious, or in person through forms.
- Restrict our social networks so that only our friends and/or direct contacts can see what we post and our profiles.
- Do not enter sensitive data in the browser if we are browsing public WiFi networks that may be intercepted.
- And this is important: do not download applications that are not hosted in official stores. In our case, on Google Play.
If despite all this we find that our personal data is being used to apply for a SIM card on our behalf, we must file a complaint immediately so that the authorities start blocking the new map (and the trace of who asked us for it). This also applies if we detect inappropriate charges on our current account. Everything can be due to third party access without our realizing it.
