29.10.2020
20:08
Also known as SIM Swapping, it is a modality that has become popular to loot bank accounts
October 29, 2020 Share on FacebookShare Share on TwitterTweet Share on WhatsAppShare
Also called SIM duplication, it is a modality that criminals have begun to use more frequently (Photo: Archivo / Cuartoscuro)
As if the risk of being assaulted on the street were not enough, now citizens must also protect themselves from not being a victim of SIM Swapping or SIM duplication , a modality that criminals have begun to use more frequently to steal money from users accessing their mobile banking accounts.
The Secretariat of Citizen Security (SSC) of Mexico City, through the Cyber Police, warned that with this method cybercriminals can carry out fraud on bank clients, impersonating their identity through the telephone number ; information used by most financial institutions as an authentication mechanism.
How do cybercriminals operate?
From the comfort of their homes, fraudsters can call anyone’s phone company, posing as it to request cancellation and replacement of their SIM. By doing so, the offender has access to the bank accounts linked to the number.
However, the telephone line is not enough to completely take possession of electronic banking, so cybercriminals begin to track personal data through the internet and social networks to supplement the authenticity information.
The cybercriminal impersonates the client’s identity (Photo: Pixabay)
After that, the criminal validates applications and activates services that allow him to obtain unlocking keys from electronic banking and thus have control of them.
In this way, banking institutions receive telephone calls and do not detect anomalies, since they do not have the ability to identify that the person in control of the telephone line is not their customer, therefore, they continue to provide services normally.
This is how cybercriminals access personal and banking information, managing to empty the accounts of their victims.
How can I avoid being a victim?
The Cyber Police of the SSC recommends using an alternative two-step authentication method such as: facial or voice recognition through applications such as Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator, which are better known.
The Cyber Police of the SSC recommends using a two-step authentication method (Photo: UNAM Global TV)
In addition, he points out that it is important to have a reliable antivirus when installing mobile banking applications and to avoid apocryphal or dubious software.
It is important to remember that banks do not ask for personal information or access credentials by any means, so if the citizen receives a call, email or SMS, requesting data should be immediately suspected and ignored.
In the event that the user requires clarification, it is suggested that the Bank be contacted through official means and not through dubious links, or communicated to any number provided by text message, as it could be fraud.
The SSC also recommends citizens to be aware of the connections of the mobile network or phone signal, because if for any reason it is lost for no apparent reason for a prolonged period , without being related to a generalized drop, it must connect to a WiFi network to check Mobile Banking and verify that there have been no strange movements in the account.
Banks do not ask for personal information or access credentials by any means (Photo: Pixabay)
Subsequently, you must go to the telephone company to file a report and thereby prevent criminals from obtaining personal information or access credentials through identity theft.
It should be noted that the SIM Swapping mode can also affect communications, since nowadays instant messaging applications such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger, among others, occupy the two-step verification system that includes sending a code by SMS to the phone number.
