Your phone doesn't block SIM swapping attacks by default: Turn on these carrier settings now
A SIM swapping attack could compromise your phone, your personal accounts, and even your identity. Here's how to thwart them.
SIM swapping attacks have become more prevalent in recent years, posing a significant risk to mobile users' security and privacy. These attacks involve fraudsters transferring a victim's mobile phone number to a SIM card in their own device, enabling them to intercept calls, messages, and two-factor authentication codes. By exploiting these vulnerabilities, attackers can gain unauthorized access to victims' mobile accounts and compromise other accounts that rely on two-factor authentication.
To safeguard against SIM swapping attacks, major US carriers such as AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon provide various security features. Verizon offers two primary safeguards: SIM Protection and Number Lock. SIM Protection prevents unauthorized SIM or device changes on a user's phone number, while Number Lock blocks any unauthorized transfers of the mobile phone number.
To enable these settings, Verizon subscribers can sign in to their accounts on the Verizon website or through the My Verizon app for iOS or Android. In the website's Account page, users should navigate to Profile and settings, then click on SIM Protection and turn on the setting for each line in their plan. In the My Verizon app, users should go to the Me screen, tap Profile and settings, and then swipe down to the Security section to enable SIM Protection for all lines.
To activate Number Lock, users should follow a similar process in either the website or the app's Security section.
T-Mobile also offers a SIM Protection feature that aims to prevent unauthorized number transfers. To enable this setting, users must sign in to their accounts on the My T-Mobile website. On the profile page, users should navigate to SIM Protection, turn on the switch for their number and any other lines they wish to protect, and click Save Changes.
AT&T, on the other hand, provides a Wireless Account Lock setting that prevents unauthorized account changes, billing updates, and wireless number transfers. To set up this feature, users need to install and use the AT&T app for iOS or Android, sign in to their accounts, tap the person icon at the upper right, swipe down the screen, and tap the Wireless Account Lock setting.
Users can confirm their action by swiping across their phone in the highlighted area, which will notify them that their account has been locked.
Written by urgent.news from ZDNet's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
