# Sim Jacking!



## Mike (Oct 15, 2019)

Is the latest phone scam, the bad people get your phone
number put it on another sim card and take over your life.

They get code numbers from your bank, then empty your
account.

Very scary if you use the phone for any banking.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-50043230

Mike.


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## hollydolly (Oct 15, 2019)

It really does make you angry at all these scammers.. !!

There's another one going around....

It can purportedly come from, *Mum, Dad, or anyone.*. in this case my friend got this one...

* ''It's Emma , I had a bad fall this morning, tried to call you but the signal is bad, can you text me please..''

*
Although my friend has a couple of Emmas' in her contact list, she realised that they were only passing acquaintances, and very unlikely to call her for help. So she googled and found that it's indeed a scam, and if you text the number back, it costs £20, and then the scammers also get to find out  the number is ''live''..


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## AnnieA (Oct 15, 2019)

Mike said:


> Is the latest phone scam, the bad people get your phone
> number put it on another sim card and take over your life.
> 
> They get code numbers from your bank, then empty your
> ...




Have always thought pay by phone was a stupid idea from a security standpoint.


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## Don M. (Oct 15, 2019)

AnnieA said:


> Have always thought pay by phone was a stupid idea from a security standpoint.



Same here.  All these modern "conveniences" potentially open a person up to all sorts of scams.  We use our phones to make/receive phone calls, Period.  There are any number of ways that cell phone calls can be intercepted and hacked.  I would far rather take a few moments to handle a transaction in person, or by paper, than to save a few seconds that might cost me dearly, financially.


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## Mike (Oct 15, 2019)

I agree with you Annie and Don, I sometimes look
for something on the internet by phone, but I do
no critical things like paying or banking.

Mike.


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## Suzy623 (Oct 16, 2019)

I keep telling my nieces and nephews not to have their banking or purchasing information on their cell phones. How many times do cell phones get lost, stolen or broken? And why do they let their toddlers play with their cell phones? If your phone is lost or stolen it doesn't matter if you have replacement coverage on it. You still run a huge risk of losing more than your phone value if your bank is tied into it! I have banking info on my desktop but I also have 3 passwords in order to access it. Several years ago we had a problem with people taking mail out of our mailbox so I now do all my banking through my computer so I consider it's actually safer. But it's hard to lose your desktop. And if things can be found in a 'secure' vault in the White House why can't our government find these scammers and stop them from preying on innocent people?


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## Mike (Oct 17, 2019)

I had to smile Suzy as I lost my Desktop a few
weeks ago, it just gave up and I had to get another,
now I am having trouble getting in to places, all
because I was lazy and kept log in details on the
old PC! Not any critical ones, my banking site does
not permit the storage of username etc., I wouldn't
keep it there anyway.

But I did smile.

Mike.


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## C'est Moi (Oct 17, 2019)

So if someone hijacks your phone number, wouldn't your existing phone be bricked?   Seems to me that you'd have some indication that there's a problem.


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## Mike (Oct 18, 2019)

Yes that is true C'est Moi, it tells you in the article I think.

Somebody should come up with a solution where you could
destroy your phone with some kind of signal if you lost it, or
in a jacking situation.

Mike.


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## C'est Moi (Oct 18, 2019)

Mike said:


> Yes that is true C'est Moi, it tells you in the article I think.
> 
> Somebody should come up with a solution where you could
> destroy your phone with some kind of signal if you lost it, or
> ...


Actually, with an iPhone and the "Find my Phone" app you have the option to erase the device remotely.


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