Ugggh….Protecting your phone from being hacked

I find all the ways in which we’re at risk online really overwhelming – and I’m reasonably “techie”. When I’m willing to focus and pay attention I have the general know how to do pretty much any of the self-care stuff we’re all advised to do by the experts, but it’s hard to make myself do it.

One thing I have been avoiding doing because every time I start reading about it my brain goes “blergh” is taking steps to prevent a SIM swap on my phone.

SIM swaps are basically someone stealing your identity by taking over your phone’s SIM. The SIM is the little microchip/card that lives in your phone and authorizes who can use that phone number. If I have your SIM, I have your phone number, and can use text authentication to take over your accounts.

Point of Perspective: I’m trying to find current statistics on this, below one data point I found is pretty low; so keep a level head about this, but still worth taking some basics steps.

It’s a growing trend. According to the U.S. Fair Trade Commission, there were 1,038 reported incidents of SIM swap identity theft in January 2013, representing 3.2 percent of identity theft cases that month. By January 2016, that number had ballooned to 2,658. (source)

So – I’ll figure out how to do it, try to make it simple, then you try it too – deal?**

First – why does it matter? Because we use our phones as our computers and they link to ALL our business. Our banking, our healthcare, our social media – literally everything.

If someone successfully does a SIM swap it’s potential DISASTER. (Read some scary stories here if you need convincing: (scary stories))

Okay – convinced that this needs to be on your to do list? Here are some basics:

1. Add a pass code to your mobile account. For my AT&T account it’s a numeric pass code. I called them and set this up yesterday; 10 minutes. Do it! 🙂
2. Take your mobile number off your accounts. Yes, this means they can’t text you reset codes, but the pain of getting SIM swapped is FAR worse. At least take it off your financial accounts…I did this today; 5 minutes.
3. Seriously consider setting up a 2 factor authentication app…*blergh* I’ll do that later

**Giant piece of honesty**

I am NOT an expert! I’m sharing my experience in hopes you’ll take some basic steps that may save you a lot of frustration down the line. I’ve provided lots of links to where I got all this from – please at least skim these articles. What I’m sharing is my layperson experience.

Where I got my info:

• https://www.wired.com/story/sim-swap-attack-defend-phone/
• https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/zm8a9y/how-to-protect-yourself-from-sim-swapping-hacks
• https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mobile-phone-sim-card-swap/
• https://krebsonsecurity.com/2018/11/busting-sim-swappers-and-sim-swap-myths/