What's worse than thieves hacking into your bank account? When they steal your phone number, too
What's worse than thieves hacking into your bank account? When they steal your phone number, too
https://apnews.com/article/fraud-identity-theft-fcc-wireless-providers-8df930f2983d589c4822bba53eedfc1b
What’s worse than thieves hacking into your bank account? When they steal your phone number, too. Associated Press writer Fatima Hussein recently fell victim to a type of fraud known as port-out hijacking, also called SIM-swapping.
One Monday morning in May, I woke up and grabbed my cell phone to read the news and scroll through memes. But it was out of cell service. I couldn’t make calls or texts.
That, though, turned out to be the least of my problems.
Using my home Wi-Fi connection, I checked my email and discovered a notification that $20,000 was being transferred from my credit card to an unfamiliar Discover Bank account.
I thwarted that transfer and reported the cell phone issues, but my nightmare was just starting. Days later, someone managed to transfer $19,000 from my credit card to the same strange bank account.
I was the victim of a type of fraud known as port-out hijacking, also called SIM-swapping. It’s a less-common form of identity theft. New federal regulations aimed at preventing port-out hijacking are under review, but it’s not clear how far they will go in stopping the crime.