How to Prevent Sim Swapping Attack?

In a sim swapping attack, the world sim means subscriber identity module that is present inside the phone so that we easily connect to the call, send text messages, etc. Sim swapping attacks happen when hackers hijack your SIM card or control your mobile phone. In this article, we will cover a brief explanation of the sim swapping attack and its prevention.

An attack that controls your SIM card or gains sensitive information is known as SIM Swapping. It occurs when the hacker calls the targeted user to convenience for OTP, password or asks the user to activate the SIM card and if the user tells the information regarding OTP, password, etc. they hijack the user’s phone and gain all the details of the user’s mobile number. Sometimes, they also call the victim and ask for the credit card details, and if the victim tells the details they hijack the credit card and withdraw the money from the victim’s account.

The Full form of SIM is a Subscriber identity module that is present in your mobile phone or you have to insert it manually while connecting with the calls, and sending text messages. SIM card gives users identity, phone number, network, stored text messages, and contact lists. SIM cards give you access to mobile data and in case if you use wifi and do not use a sim card on your mobile in that case you can still access Google or any online social media such as WhatsApp, sending emails without the need for a SIM card. But if you want to connect with calls, and send text messages, the SIM card is necessary in your mobile phone.

Here are the types of SIM-

• Micro SIM:- This SIM is found in the phones of 2010s and later. The size of Micro SIM is 15*12mm.
• Standard SIM:- This SIM card is used in older mobile phones and the size of standard SIM is 25*15mm.
• Embedded SIM:- Embedded SIM is installed remotely in your mobile phone by a network carrier. The size of this SIM card is 6*5mm.
• Nano SIM:- This SIM is used in newer smartphones and the size of a nano SIM card is 12.3*8.8mm.

SIM jacking is also known as SIM Swapping. It occurs when hackers have full control of your mobile phone. Hackers first deactivate or block your SIM card and then call the phone carrier and convince them to convert the original SIM card to a new SIM card because the phone was lost and when the phone carrier submitted the request successfully they fully accessed your mobile phone. If someone calls you and sends messages in that case the number and messages do not reflect your mobile, it reflects the hacker’s mobile because your sim is already blocked by a hacker. Many reports show that hackers have stolen all the money of the victims in bank accounts and many businesses have faced financial losses due to the reason of SIM swapped attacks.

When SIM Swap fraud occurs, make sure to contact your respective service provider. They will confirm if sim hijacking takes place or not and you can also follow the security guidelines when your sim is swapped by a hacker.

Here are the steps that’s helps to recover from SIM swapped:-

• Call your mobile service provider.
• Make sure to lock accounts such as Gmail accounts and any social media accounts.
• Share the information with friends and colleagues they give you some tips.
• File a report.
• Hackers might call you if you use another mobile phone and blackmail you when you pay some money they will activate your SIM card and not misuse your data. But there is no guarantee to not ask for more money, so make sure to ignore these types.

Social media plays an important role in SIM Swap fraud. Hackers execute the SIM Swap attack on social media successfully. Because many of the users in social media send personal information hackers easily steal your sensitive information and misuse it. Many individuals use the same passwords in every account, which will easily guess hackers and hijack your mobile phone. Some users share important or sensitive information in Instagram posts, Facebook posts, or any social media posts such as users sharing their pet names, and hackers mainly focus on these types of posts and extract their information that is used to hack the password and hijack the mobile phone.

Here are the signs of sim swapping attack-

• When you are targeted by a sim-swapping attack, you are not able to make calls and send text messages. Also, your mobile network connection might slow or not work this thing happens because your hacker hijacks your SIM card.

• The next sign of a sim swapping attack is the victim’s not able to access Gmail accounts and any social media accounts. you can also see that someone in your account login again and again and the OTP sends again and again to your mobile phone or email address and calls you to convenience them so that you can tell the OTP and they gain access to your account.

• Many service providers can notify you if they find any suspicious account activity they either send a notification in in text message or email you about that.

• In a Sim swapping attack, you find there is an unusual transaction going on in your account. If someone notified you regarding your transactions. It means they steal your account details. Hackers call you and convince them to tell the credit card details. Make sure to ignore any unauthorized person’s email or messages that ask for personal information.

• A poor password or weak password is also a sign of a sim-swapping attack. Make sure to put a strong password with a combination of letters, special characters, and numbers to recover ourselves from sim sim-swapping attack.

• Attackers also send malicious links in emails and you click the link and enter the credentials they steal your phone data and try to gain access to your mobile phone.

Here are the prevention steps that prevent for sim swapping attack-

• Be aware of any attacks such as phishing attacks, or social engineering attacks, and never share any credentials with hackers when they call you to ask.
• Secure your phone accounts by putting strong passwords and unique passwords in every account.
• Use an authentication app that secures the app. Enable 2FA will secure your mobile and recover from SIM hijacking.
• Don’t link accounts via mobile number. Use another way to set up accounts.
• Don’t share any personal information online or on social media. Hackers mainly focus on social media or online to steal sensitive information.
• Use pin codes that the mobile carrier provided to enhance the security of mobile phones or reduce the risk of sim swapping attacks.
• If you face any suspicious activity in your accounts, make sure to report it to the Federal Trade Commission.

In the digital era, the mobile is an important source in the digital world where we connect with people in calls around the globe and send text messages. But we don’t ignore the security policies to secure our SIM card otherwise hackers hijack our SIM card and gain access to our mobile phones. We already discussed the prevention steps of that to secure a sim swap attack.

How to protect your business from SIM Swapping attack

Here are the steps to protect your business from SIM Swapping attack-

• Trained employees to not use company credentials in any accounts.
• Don’t answer every call, or text message that asks for personal information or credit card information.
• If your phone stops working and all the company accounts are down it means hackers hijacked your phone in that case report immediately.

What is hijacking in cyber security?

Hijacking is the type of attack where unauthorized users try to access your devices or system to gain personal information.

How to secure mobile phone from sim swapping attack

Here are the steps to secure mobile phone from sim swapping attack-

1. Connect with your mobile network provider.
2. Put a strong password on your SIM card.
3. Update your mobile phone.