SIM swap
Carrier identity theft
A SIM swap is a fraud technique where criminals convince a mobile carrier to transfer a victim's phone number to a new SIM card they control.
Once successful, the attacker receives the victim's calls and texts—including two-factor authentication codes—enabling access to bank accounts, email, and cryptocurrency wallets.
She lost thousands after a SIM swap gave hackers access to her accounts.
- phone numberNumeric calling address
- portingAdapting for compatibility
- mobile carrierCellular network operator
- burner phoneDisposable anonymous telephone
- victimOne harmed by another
cybercrime · scam · personal data · bank account · account takeover · stolen identity · identity theft · social engineering · wire fraud · credential stuffing · credit card fraud · authentication · phishing · security breach · text message · one-time password · malware · ransomware
- cyberattacksmalware, phishing, ransomware, hack, virus
- crypto crimesrug pull, exit scam, pump and dump, Ponzi scheme, cryptojacking
- SIM cardseSIM
- crypto walletshardware wallet, cold wallet, mobile wallet, crypto wallet, self-custody
SIM swapaccount security
Safeguards for user profiles
SIM lock · multi-factor authentication · two-factor authentication · identity verification · fraud prevention
SIM swapphone theft
Stealing someone's mobile
stolen phone · pickpocketing · burglary · mugging · snatching
SIM, swap, swapped, swapping, swaps, swapper, similar, similarity, similarly