When you notice that your phone suddenly goes silent and loses access to the network, and you are not currently resting on a beach in Zanzibar, you should immediately take decisive action and contact your telecommunications operator. It won't hurt with your bank either. Why? It cannot be ruled out that you have just become a victim of SIM-Swap-Fraud, a scam that takes its name from unauthorized access to a duplicate SIM card. Your SIM card.
In order for an attack to occur, criminals need to know your phone number, some personal details and the name of the bank where you have your account. It is not difficult to obtain such a set of data, some of them are, among others, on the so-called "white list" of the Ministry of Finance, but we can also unknowingly equip the fraudster with them as a result of a phishing attack. The only thing missing for the fraudster is a false identity document with your data - despite criminal sanctions, it is still not a problem for someone who wants to obtain a collector's ID with your data and a photo of the fraudster.
Having a complete set of information, the fraudsters report to the operator a desire to get a duplicate of your SIM card, and then use the phony card to authorize the transfer of funds from your bank account. In the case of this type of attack, time is of great importance, so we should act quickly so that there is no worst-case scenario, i.e. withdrawing funds from our account.
Is there a way to protect yourself from these types of attacks? We should protect our data, especially related to logging in to electronic banking, and not share it with anyone. It is also worth getting acquainted with the procedures of contacting the bank and telecom in the event of such a "failure".
The eZNACZEK is a solution that provides an additional layer to protect your electronic communications, reducing the risk of becoming a victim of phishing. The eZNACZEK is also an additional option to verify the customer's identity in the operator's showroom or bank branch.
If you want to minimize the above mentioned risk, ask your service provider (bank, telecom, media, etc.) to ensure that the messages sent to you are additionally secured and that you can additionally authorize with an eZNACZEK at the point of sale.