SIM Swap Warning Signs
Launch library · evergreen read
A SIM swap involves someone deliberately convincing a mobile provider to transfer a phone number onto a device they personally control, often using personal details gathered from elsewhere beforehand, which can then let them intercept the codes normally used to reset passwords on various other unrelated accounts entirely elsewhere across the internet.
A sudden, genuinely quite unexplained loss of mobile signal, alongside messages about account changes that were not personally requested by the account holder, are early warning signs well worth acting on quickly rather than simply assuming a temporary technical fault has occurred somewhere with the network or the device itself.
Contacting the mobile provider directly through a separate device or an independently known number, and checking all linked accounts for any unauthorised activity immediately, limits the potential damage considerably if a swap has genuinely already occurred, catching it before any further accounts can also be compromised in turn.