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The SIM swap scam is a dangerous trend in telecom. It involves cybercriminals getting information about a cell phone user and fraudulently asking telecom companies to activate a SIM card in the criminal's possession that is attached to the victim's account.
The SIM swap scam is also known as the SIM card swap scam, SIM swap attack, SIM intercept attack, SIM splitting or SIM hijacking.
Techopedia Explains SIM Swap Scam
So much of people's sensitive financial information and other data goes through smartphones that there is ample incentive for criminals to start practicing these types of SIM card fraud. In some ways, it is a rather "low-tech" type of attack; all the criminals need is enough information to trick the telecom vendor into giving them an activated SIM card in a legitimate customer's name.
This is playing out in many different ways, as this type of fraud increases. It is something that cell phone users should know about, and it will have an impact on telecom and ISP contracts in the future.
