Another way to watch your life drain away on the datafeed of a smartphone:
Since April 2019, there have been more than 300 cases in the UK of attacks in which people try to fraudulently obtain codes that would let them gain control of someone’s mobile number, the UK’s data watchdog has revealed in figures that suggest the practice is becoming more common.
The process of SIM-jacking, or SIM-swapping, involves an attacker contacting a person’s mobile network operator and fraudulently obtaining a porting authorisation code (PAC) enabling them to switch the victim’s phone number to another phone on a different network.
UK-based food-writer Jack Monroe recently had about £5000 stolen from her bank account after someone managed to hijack her mobile number. [NewScientist (11 January 2020)]
And the worst thing about it? There’s almost nothing you can do about it! It’s all about the mistake someone makes at your carrier!
Another reason to view using your phone as your critical interface to the world with some a lot of suspicion.
