Last month, we shared a story about a woman who fell victim to a SIM swap and had a staggering $17,000 stolen from her bank account. Unfortunately, this type of scam is becoming more common, and it’s essential to be aware of the signs and know what steps to take if it happens to you.

Here’s what happened in the case we mentioned:

– A thief visited a Verizon store and pretended to be the victim, requesting a new SIM card for her phone number.
– Once he received the new SIM card, he inserted it into his phone, effectively shutting off the woman’s service.
– With access to her apps and passwords, the thief managed to steal $17,000 from her bank account.

A similar incident occurred with a T-Mobile customer who shared his experience on Reddit. Here’s what transpired:

– The T-Mobile subscriber received an email notification about a SIM change on his number that he had not requested.
– He discovered that the ESIM on his iPhone was no longer active.

When faced with this situation, the T-Mobile subscriber took immediate action:

– He contacted T-Mobile right away but had difficulty explaining the situation to the representative.
– It was revealed that someone had visited a physical T-Mobile store claiming to be him and requested a new SIM card for his number.

The consequences of these fraudulent activities were severe:

– The victim started receiving fraud alerts from his bank as unauthorized purchases were attempted by the thief.
– The security settings on his banking app had been altered in an attempt to make expensive purchases totaling over $10,000.

To regain control over his accounts, the T-Mobile customer had to visit a store and have an employee change the SIM without sending a verification text that could have alerted the criminal.

This begs the question: Why don’t carriers implement stricter measures to prevent SIM swaps? Here are some potential solutions:

– Carriers should require verification texts from device owners before processing any SIM changes.
– These verification texts should be mandatory for all in-store SIM swaps.

It’s essential for carriers like T-Mobile to prioritize their customers’ security by implementing these measures. Otherwise, we may continue hearing stories of subscribers falling victim to these scams and suffering significant financial losses.