Don’t become a victim of SIM swap fraud

MOKOPANE – A resident of Mokopane has recently fallen victim to SIM swap fraud, defrauding him of thousands of rands.

The anonymous resident received an SMS from his mobile phone operator informing him that a SIM swap has been requested. When he followed up on the matter he learned that he had been defrauded of more than a R100 000.

While an investigation into his case is ongoing, he appeals to the community to be alert.

SIM swap fraud is a technique used by criminals to defraud unsuspecting internet banking users. Once they have acquired the victim’s banking details and other personal information through phishing scams, they go to the victim’s mobile phone operator and, using fake identification and proof of address, they pose as the victim and request a new SIM card.

This means that the victim’s current SIM card is cancelled and the fraudsters now receive all their calls and SMS messages on the new SIM card.

This includes the ‘One Time Pin’ SMS that enables them to make payments from the victim’s bank account.

While SIM swap fraud is still a relatively new technique, and only makes up a fraction of all banking fraud, it is alarming to note how it has grown.

Keep the following tips in mind to avoid falling victim to Sim swap fraud:

•Be vigilant and always aware of your mobile phone’s network connectivity status. If you realise you are not receiving any calls or SMS notifications, something may be wrong and you should make enquiries to be sure you have not fallen victim to this scam.

•Some mobile operators send customers an SMS to alert them of a SIM swap instruction and customers should contact their operator if the request is fraudulent.

•Do not switch off your mobile phone in the event you are receiving numerous annoying calls, rather not answer the calls. This could be a ploy to prevent you from noticing your connectivity has been tampered with.

• Register for SMS notifications when there is any activity on your bank account so that you can be alerted to any attempt to move funds from your account.

•SIM swap fraud almost always goes hand-in-hand with phishing, so the same protection mechanisms should apply (do not click on links from e-mails, SMS’, and so on, purporting to be from your bank and never enter your log-on information).

•Make a habit of checking your bank statements and online banking transaction history regularly. This way, you will able to timeously identify any unauthorised transactions.