SIM swapping is fraud that moves a mobile number onto a card the attacker controls, so calls and text codes follow that number.
Once the number moves, password resets and bank prompts that rely on text messages arrive at the wrong handset.
How it works
The transfer can abuse a carrier process or a stolen carrier account.
The victim often notices only when their own phone loses service, which may be after accounts have already been reset.
This page does not describe how to persuade a carrier or which words to use.
Defense is about protecting the mobile account, preferring stronger sign in, and noticing a sudden loss of signal as an emergency.
Concrete examples
- A person loses mobile service and then finds mail saying the bank password was changed.
- A creator account is emptied after a login code that should have stayed on the original phone is used elsewhere.
- A carrier shows a new card activated on the account while the customer was not in a store.
Protective measures
- Ask your carrier for a strong account lock that a shop visit or a call cannot bypass with weak questions.
- Do not use text messages as the only way to recover mail, banking, or admin accounts.
- Treat a sudden loss of mobile service as urgent, contact the carrier on a known path, and review account recovery.
- Prefer app based or hardware sign in factors that do not travel with the phone number.