{"id":769,"date":"2018-03-01T10:17:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-01T10:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fraud.flywheelsites.com\/port_out_alert\/"},"modified":"2020-11-09T07:30:43","modified_gmt":"2020-11-09T07:30:43","slug":"port_out_alert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/port_out_alert\/","title":{"rendered":"Cell phone \u2018port-out scam\u2019 can threaten bank, other accounts – Fraud.org"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re like most Americans, your cell phone is probably one of the first things you look at in the morning and one of the last things you look at at night. Imagine then, waking up to find that your phone suddenly doesn\u2019t work, and it\u2019s just constantly in emergency mode. For a growing number of consumers, this is the first sign that they are a victim of the port-out scam. <\/span><\/p>\n

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In the scam (also known as the \u201cSIM-swap scam\u201d), a fraudster tricks a cell phone carrier into transferring or porting a consumer\u2019s legitimate phone number to a phone in a scammer\u2019s controls. Once a number is ported, all calls and text messages that are sent to that number go to the scammer\u2019s phone. With that power, scammers are able to get around security features, like two-factor authentication, that are in place to protect consumers\u2019 sensitive email, banking, and social media account information.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a typical port-out scam, the fraudster will first obtain key details about their victims, such as the last four digits of a Social Security number, a phone number, name on the account, and the victim\u2019s address–all of which are widely available on online black markets thanks to years of data breaches.<\/span><\/p>\n

Armed with this information, the scammer then calls the victim\u2019s wireless provider and impersonates their victim. Once the scammer establishes contact with the cell phone company, if the victim did not establish a security pin, all the scammer needs to do is correctly confirm the last 4 digits of their victim\u2019s Social Security number and mailing address. The scammer then asks the wireless company to port \u201ctheir\u201d number to a different phone. After the carrier switches the victims\u2019 phone number to the fraudster\u2019s phone, the victim\u2019s phone will go dead, and the scammer will then use the phone in his possession to reset passwords or gain entry to accounts that use two-factor text authentication. The most common target for these scammers are bank accounts. Once a bank account is accessed, the scammer can quickly transfer funds to an account that the scammer controls.<\/span><\/p>\n

This scam can be financially devastating to its victims, but there are several steps you can take to prevent the scam from happening in the first place: <\/span><\/p>\n