ST. LOUIS, MO (KMOX) — Cybersecurity experts say a form of identity theft that uses your smartphone is on the rise.
It's called SIM swapping.
"The attackers are going to hijack a victim's cell phone number and then use it to take over his online accounts that rely on phone-based authentication," Dr. Zahid Anwar, Associate Professor of Cybersecurity at Fontbonne University explains.
SIM chips are the small removable smart chips that tie your device to your phone number.
Anwar says in SIM swapping, cybercriminals either impersonate you to get a cell phone company to switch your number to a SIM chip they control, the cybercriminals might hack into the customer service computers themselves, or they may have an insider.
"The customer service agent is either bribed or hire, to swap the SIM on behalf of the attacker," Zahid says.
Anwar explains once the attacker has control of your phone, they often have easy access to your email and financial accounts — especially if those accounts are set up with text verification.
The FBI has now issued a warning that hackers are using SIM swapping to launch attacks against companies during the pandemic's remote work environment.
Ways to combat these attacks? Anwar recommends you set much more difficult personal security questions on your cell service account, ask your cell provider about additional security measures and avoid linking bank and other accounts to your cell number.
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