Learn why sim swappers can overtake access to your life and how easy it really is.
Episode #11-18 released on December 15, 2020
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In today's society, virtually every person has a smartphone. Many people, including myself, use multi factor authentication. Some companies primarily send their second factor authentication tokens by text message, believing it is safer than other methods, and sometimes do not offer any other method.
It is, also, true that smart phones are vulnerable to malicious call and message interception via the SS7 networks around the world, but there is a method that is precise and can affect anyone. This method is known as Sim Swap Fraud, and what happens is that a malicious individual goes into a store and gets a sim card made to overtake your account, disconnecting you from the network. Then they intercept and receive all phone calls, text messages and take control of your life.
The biggest problem with sim swapping, is that the person being targeted is not aware of the process until it is too late. There is little you can do to prevent most issues unless you methodically avoid two factor authentication via text message religiously. It is, also, important to note that some employees of retailers are part of the problem, allowing the sim swappers easy reign over any target.
The solution is a difficult pill to swallow for most companies and many of them will not act unless governments put legislation into place that requires perfect control of your accounts.
Some of the things we would need to start putting into place include real time two factor authentication over the line in question, in person only changes whenever the phone is not in working condition and only with identification. We would have to abolish the idea of a mother's maiden name being the only security on your account, but if you have the option, change the answer to anything other than your mother's maiden name.
Host : Steve Smith | Music : | Editor : Steve Smith | Producer : Zed Axis Dot Net