Alert your service provider if you see unauthorized calls or charges on your account. Scammers can then run up expensive toll charges and the legitimate phone user gets billed for the cloned phone's calls.

After cloning, both the legitimate and the fraudulent cell phones have the same ESN/MIN combination and cellular providers cannot distinguish the cloned cell phone from the legitimate one. Scammers can steal ESN/MIN combinations by illegally monitoring the radio wave transmissions from the cell phones of legitimate subscribers. A cloned cell phone is one that has been reprogrammed to transmit the ESN and MIN belonging to another cell phone. Learn more in our eSIM consumer FAQ.Įvery cell phone should have a unique factory-set electronic serial number (ESN) and a mobile identification number (MIN). However, port-out scams remain a security concern.Īlso, consumers should always wipe their eSIM data when they replace their phones. The eSIM cards are much smaller and hardwired inside the phone, so they’re not removable, eliminating some of the security risk for physical SIM swaps. Learn more about this scam and how to protect yourself.Įmbedded SIM cards – eSIM cards for short – have replaced traditional SIM cards in newer cell phone models. If successful, the scammer can drain the victim’s bank accounts and sell or ransom their social media data. In either case, the scammer can gain control over the victim's private texts and calls, and may then try to reset credentials for the victim's financial data and social media accounts. The scammer can then use the stolen SIM card in their own mobile device. If the scam is successful, the phone number will be ported to a different mobile device controlled by the scammer.Īnother way to perpetrate this scam is to physically steal the victim’s SIM card, a removable device in some mobile phones that carries a unique ID and stores the consumer’s personal data. When scammers initiate a porting request, they con the victim’s mobile phone company into believing the request is from the authorized account holder.

But with enough of your personal information, scammers can have your number ported to a device they possess. Mobile phone numbers can legally be ported from one provider to another when you switch your mobile phone service, and can also be ported from one mobile phone to another when you upgrade or change devices. Text messages are often used by banks, businesses and payment services to verify your identity when you request updates to your account. Your mobile phone number may be the key to your most important financial accounts. Types of cellular fraud include SIM swapping, cloning and subscriber fraud. SIM swapping is when someone hijacks your mobile phone number to gain access to your texts and calls.Ĭellular fraud is defined as the unauthorized use, tampering or manipulation of a cellular phone or service.

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