Category Archives: SIM Swapping

European police nab 26 suspects in SIM swapping dragnet

Posted on by

Police in Europe have arrested 26 people in an effort against two gangs of scammers who would take over victims’ phones, then steal financial and personal data from the devices. Law enforcement in Spain and Romania, in coordination with Europol, arrested 12 and 14 people, respectively, in actions against two distinct groups of SIM swappers, Europol announced Friday. SIM swapping occurs when thieves convince phone companies to give them access to an individual’s phone number, often by impersonating the victim during a call with a customer service representative. This grants attackers access to incoming phone calls, text messages and credentials like one-time codes that various sites send via text as part of the two-factor authentication process. The group in Spain stole more than €3 million ($3.34 million) in a series 100 attacks, Europol said. In each instance, the group walked off with between €6,000 ($6,700) and €137,000 ($153,000) from hacked bank […]

The post European police nab 26 suspects in SIM swapping dragnet appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading European police nab 26 suspects in SIM swapping dragnet→

SIM Swap Crypto Lawsuit Goes Forward in Los Angeles

Posted on by

Can AT&T be held liable for identity theft resulting from SIM swapping? In June 2017, Michael Terpin, a prominent cryptocurrency trader from Puerto Rico, turned on his cell phone and found it didn’t work. Apparently, hackers had gone to various AT… Continue reading SIM Swap Crypto Lawsuit Goes Forward in Los Angeles→

Teenager charged over $50 million SIM-swap cryptocurrency theft

Posted on by

Samy Bensaci, an 18-year-old living in Montreal, Canada, has been charged in connection with the theft of over $50 million worth of cryptocurrency in a SIM-swapping scam. A SIM swap attack (also sometimes called a Port Out scam) is one where fraudsters… Continue reading Teenager charged over $50 million SIM-swap cryptocurrency theft→

Five Major US Wireless Carriers Are Vulnerable to SIM Swapping

Posted on by

Most wireless carriers in the United States are vulnerable to SIM swapping attacks and lack proper procedures to fend off hackers and other bad actors, Princeton researchers have found. SIM swapping became a popular attack method during the Bitcoin boo… Continue reading Five Major US Wireless Carriers Are Vulnerable to SIM Swapping→

U.S. Lawmakers Call on FCC to Step Up Fight on SIM Swapping

Posted on by

U.S. members of Congress have called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to crack down on SIM swapping, a type of fraud blamed for more than $70 million in nationwide losses annually. The letter sent to the FCC advocates for consum… Continue reading U.S. Lawmakers Call on FCC to Step Up Fight on SIM Swapping→

Senators Prod FCC to Act on SIM Swapping

Posted on by

Crooks have stolen tens of millions of dollars and other valuable commodities from thousands of consumers via “SIM swapping,” a particularly invasive form of fraud that involves tricking a target’s mobile carrier into transferring someone’s wireless service to a device they control. But the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the entity responsible for overseeing wireless industry practices, has so far remained largely silent on the matter. Now, a cadre of Senate lawmakers is demanding to know what, if anything, the agency might be doing to track and combat SIM swapping. Continue reading Senators Prod FCC to Act on SIM Swapping→

Two men busted for hijacking victims’ phones and email accounts

Posted on by

Prosecutors allege that Meiggs and Harrington took over their targets’ mobile phone and email accounts via SIM-swapping. Continue reading Two men busted for hijacking victims’ phones and email accounts→

Sextortionist whisks away sex tapes using just a phone number

Posted on by

The SIM-swap victim knew he was in trouble when he got a 3:30 a.m. message about his phone service being cut off. Continue reading Sextortionist whisks away sex tapes using just a phone number→

Food writer Jack Monroe loses at least £5,000 in SIM-swap fraud

Posted on by

Her accounts were drained in spite of using 2FA, showing that SIM swaps can still circumvent what’s a good security tool. Continue reading Food writer Jack Monroe loses at least £5,000 in SIM-swap fraud→