Do you pay as much attention to protecting the security of your phone as your computer?
You should, because your phone could be a gateway to your financial, social media, email and other personal accounts. Fraudsters are continuously devising new schemes to take control of your phone to perpetrate identity theft and fraud — and if they succeed, the damage can be significant.
Beware of Phone Porting or SIM-Swapping
Picture this: One day your cell phone just stops working. You can’t initiate or receive any calls or text messages. To understand how scary that is, think about the times you’ve needed to reset a password and were asked to provide a one-time passcode sent to you via text. Now imagine that you’re not on the receiving end of those texts, but a fraudster who has taken over control of your phone is — and is resetting the passwords for all of your sensitive logins.
So how does a fraudster get control of your phone number in the first place? This kind of identity theft scam is often called a “phone porting” or “SIM-swapping” attack.
Here’s what typically happens: The scammer gathers personally identifiable information (PII) about you — things like your name, address, date of birth and Social Security Number — then calls your mobile carrier, pretends to be you and convinces the service representative to transfer your number to a new service or device.
To help combat phone scams, many carriers are now allowing you to add extra security to your account. This way, if and when you have a legitimate need to transfer your number, you’ll be asked to provide a special personal identification number (PIN) code or answer an identity verification question. Call your carrier today to understand what proactive security measures you can put in place.
If you suspect you’re the victim of a phone porting attack, contact your mobile carrier and financial institutions immediately to let them know. Reacting quickly can help limit the potential damage.
Don’t Engage With Robocallers and Scam Texts
We’ve all been there — you’re sitting at home, trying to enjoy a nice dinner and your phone won’t stop buzzing with calls or texts from unknown numbers or service providers.
While some reputable entities use robocalls and texts, a large number of these calls originate from illegitimate sources pushing fake offers or threatening alerts in an attempt to steal personal information or compromise your device. Many scam artists spoof their numbers so it looks like it’s coming from your area code or is a valid business or a government agency like the IRS.
Follow these tips to reduce the amount of robocalls and texts you receive and better protect yourself from fraudsters:
- Don’t engage. Any response – including answers calls or replying to scam texts with words like “STOP” – confirms your number is active and could lead to more outreach. Remember to never click on links in unsolicited text messages.
- Use phone or carrier protections to enable spam call blocking and text filtering and be sure to report calls and texts as scam to train your filters. Consider silencing or screening calls from individuals not in your contacts.
- Add your home and mobile phone numbers to the National Do Not Call Registry by visiting DoNotCall.gov. This should help reduce the number of legitimate sales calls you receive, but remember that scammers don’t abide by the registry.
Protect Your Mobile Devices From Hackers
Your phone is the focal point for much of your life. So, don’t compromise when it comes to its security.
This starts by locking down access to your mobile devices and the accounts you use your phone to access. Begin by creating a strong screen lock like a long password or phrase and enabling biometric authentication like fingerprint or facial recognition. In addition, be sure to enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for the sensitive applications on your phone, like email, social media or banking applications.
Hackers often target outdated software or malicious applications. That’s why it’s so important to install updates to your phone’s operating system right away as those updates also include security fixes. In addition to keeping your operating system up to date, update your applications regularly, remove applications you don’t use and only download applications from your phone’s designated app store.
Last but certainly not least, don’t click on links in unexpected texts, emails or social media messages, which could be malicious. Limit application permissions to those the application needs to function. For instance, if an application doesn’t need access to your microphone, contacts, photos or location to function, don’t grant it. Configure application access in your phone’s settings.
At Morgan Stanley, safeguarding your personal information is a top priority, but you have a vital role to play. Following these guidelines for your personal devices can help you avoid becoming a victim of cybercrime, identity theft or fraud scams.
