I read an article recently about a new scam I'd not heard of previously. The scam involves porting your mobile number to another service, so the scammers and not you are in control of your mobile phone number.
In the past I've seen one person who had their mobile number redirected to a scammer and their bank account cleared out, but this one goes a step further. Porting the mobile number from one telco to another.
The following is an account of such a scam from the Bankwest site.
https://www.bankwest.com.au/media-centre/media-releases/mobile-phone-porting-new-type-of-scam-to-look-out-for-1292493597511
The lesson here is if your mobile phone service stops working unexpectedly contact your telco immediately. In fact the story shared by Bankwest indicates even if you get a notice that there may be an interruption to your service, you should contact your telco immediately as well to ensure it is actually the telco sending the message.
The reason this type of scam works, is people often have accounts set up so a confirmation is sent to their mobile phone. This is called two factor authentication. E.g. a pin number is received to enable them to verify it is actually them making the request. Once your mobile phone has been compromised and the scammer is then receiving the pin or other number, they then have control over whatever account they have access to.
You may wish to let others know of this scam, particularly those who are less comfortable with technology.
Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
In the past I've seen one person who had their mobile number redirected to a scammer and their bank account cleared out, but this one goes a step further. Porting the mobile number from one telco to another.
The following is an account of such a scam from the Bankwest site.
https://www.bankwest.com.au/media-centre/media-releases/mobile-phone-porting-new-type-of-scam-to-look-out-for-1292493597511
The lesson here is if your mobile phone service stops working unexpectedly contact your telco immediately. In fact the story shared by Bankwest indicates even if you get a notice that there may be an interruption to your service, you should contact your telco immediately as well to ensure it is actually the telco sending the message.
The reason this type of scam works, is people often have accounts set up so a confirmation is sent to their mobile phone. This is called two factor authentication. E.g. a pin number is received to enable them to verify it is actually them making the request. Once your mobile phone has been compromised and the scammer is then receiving the pin or other number, they then have control over whatever account they have access to.
You may wish to let others know of this scam, particularly those who are less comfortable with technology.
Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
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