How to protect your cell phone number from SIM swap attacks

It’s 2025, and mobile phone numbers are ubiquitous. We use our telephone numbers to join web sites and on-line companies, from retail and banking to social media and well being suppliers. You should utilize your telephone quantity to reset a forgotten password, and even for receiving two-factor authentication codes for securely logging in to your accounts.

But when somebody can steal your telephone quantity, they will successfully develop into you. 

Together with your telephone quantity, a hacker can begin getting access to your on-line accounts, and even trick automated techniques into pondering they’re you when calling customer support. A hijacked telephone quantity can generally be used to entry an organization’s community as in the event that they have been that worker, permitting entry to delicate recordsdata and information.

That is all of the extra cause to proactively shield your telephone quantity from SIM swapping, a sort of cyberattack that entails a hacker hijacking a sufferer’s telephone quantity. The excellent news is that it’s simpler than it’s ever been to lock down your quantity.

SIM swapping assaults normally occur when a malicious hacker calls up a cell provider impersonating a particular buyer. This hacker would use info they discovered on-line, resembling a buyer’s identify and date of start, after which ask a buyer help consultant to switch or “port out” that quantity to a distinct SIM card or provider. As quickly as that course of completes, the individual’s telephone quantity will activate on a SIM card or telephone managed by the hacker, permitting them to make calls and ship and obtain textual content messages as in the event that they have been the individual they only hacked.

Oftentimes, the one signal that this has occurred is that if the sufferer out of the blue loses cell service for seemingly no cause.

SIM swap assaults exploit a weak point within the safety controls inside a cell suppliers’ inside techniques that permit help representatives make adjustments to buyer accounts with out essentially getting the shopper’s specific permission.

To fight these sorts of impersonation and deception ways, generally known as social engineering attacks, three main telephone carriers in america — AT&T, T-Cell and Verizon — have launched security measures that make it harder for malicious hackers to deceptively get a buyer’s account modified, resembling porting out their telephone quantity.

Take a minute or two to examine your telephone provider’s account; these options are sometimes not publicized very effectively and might not be enabled by default. 

AT&T

In July, AT&T introduced its free Wireless Account Lock security feature to assist stop SIM swaps. The function permits AT&T prospects so as to add additional account safety by toggling on a setting that forestalls anybody from transferring a SIM card or telephone quantity to a different machine or account. The function could be switched on by way of AT&T’s app or by means of its on-line account portal by anybody who manages the account, so guarantee that account is protected with a novel password and multi-factor authentication.

T-Cell

T-Cell permits prospects to prevent SIM swaps and block unauthorized number port outs without cost by means of their T-Cell on-line account. The first account holder must log in to alter to the setting, resembling switching it on or off.

Verizon

Verizon has two security measures referred to as SIM Protection and Number Lock, which respectively stop SIM swaps and telephone quantity transfers. Each of those options could be turned on by way of the Verizon app and thru the net account portal by an account’s proprietor or supervisor. Verizon says that switching off the function could end in a 15-minute delay earlier than any transactions could be carried out — one other safeguard to permit the reliable account holder to reverse any account adjustments.