How Can I Know If Someone Hacked My SIM Card?

Have you noticed strange things happening on your smartphone or tablet? Or people you connect with having access to your personal information that they should never have? If this is the case, your smartphone or tablet might be compromised. More specifically, It could be the SIM card that’s in it. It can refer to both the insertable type, such as a nano-SIM card and the soldered type, such as an embedded SIM card. Anyone with access to it can listen to your calls, see your texts, and monitor your location, whether they are physically nearby or halfway around the world. Even worse, if the perpetrator has malicious intent, the results can be terrible. We’ll answer the queries that you should have now, “How do I know if my SIM card has been hacked?” or “Can my SIM card be hacked?”

Let’s begin with answering, “why would someone hack my sim card?”

Reasons Why Someone Would Hack Your SIM

There are four primary reasons why your SIM could be hacked: 

Receive 2FA Codes: 

Get two-factor authentication codes sent to your phone via text message. It will allow the hacker to obtain access to sensitive online accounts, like online banking, that otherwise would have been restricted. 

Get Access to Private Calls and Messages:

To receive texts and phone calls from another person, and so forth. This could be for various purposes, such as spying on their conversations and interactions with others. 

Identity Theft:

Not only may someone who has cloned another person’s SIM card receive their incoming messages and calls, but they can also use their number to send outbound texts and calls. This implies they might pose to obtain access to sensitive accounts or even trick the victim’s contacts.

Target a High Profile:

Hackers frequently use this method to target people in certain company positions or with a certain degree of income. For instance, Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, was recently a victim of SIM Swapping.

Now, the next question is, “is there a way someone can hack my SIM card?”.

Can Someone Hack My SIM?

The answer is, yes, they can.

It is pretty easy for someone to have access to your SIM card. However, it is not that common; in fact, hackers are much more likely to put spyware on a victim’s cell phone or swap SIM cards. Another common fallacy is that hackers may ‘tap into’ your SIM card and listen in on calls, read texts, and so on without your knowledge. The truth is that detecting whether or not your SIM card has been hacked is relatively simple.

So, the right question here is, “can someone SIM swap me?” and the answer is a Yes again. 

Also, it is a little more challenging to tell if your sim is swapped until you check your phone and find “no signals.” Hackers can quickly drain your bank account or use your information for other foul purposes until you know. Other than sim swap, installing spyware lets hackers get sensitive data, and the messages and calls log from the victim’s phone and use it.

How does SIM Swap Work?

An attacker may use social engineering to persuade your phone service provider to move your number to a new SIM card. This would entail the account holder to persuade a phone service provider representative to switch the number from one SIM card to another. If the hacker can convince the employee to change the numbers, the account holder’s phone number will be unknowingly given away. Hackers can also use this strategy by enlisting the services of an insider who can help them switch SIM cards in bulk. An instance like this was recently uncovered involving employees at a prominent mobile service provider in the United States.

How to Know If You Are SIM Swapped?

Here are a few easy ways to find your SIM is hacked or compromised and immediately restrict potential loss.

No Calls or Messages:

You haven’t received any calls or texts in a long time. You won’t receive any further messages or phone calls if someone has cloned your SIM card or persuaded your network provider to move your number to a new SIM card that they possess. A phone number can only be paired with one SIM card at any moment. You can simply test this by having a buddy phone or text you, and if the call or text does not go through, you know you have an issue. Your SIM has not been hacked or cloned if you can still receive calls and texts.

No Signals

Another straightforward and quickest way to tell is to check your phone and find “no signals.” And you are not in a remote area. If you find that your device is out of signals for a long time, then contact your mobile service provider as soon as possible to look into the reasons.

Locked Out of Your Account

A security mechanism is known as 2FA, i.e., two-factor authentication is used by many accounts. Even when a hacker knows your username and password, this function stops them from gaining access to your account. This works by sending you a unique code through text message to authenticate your login. The issue is that if a hacker has been able to clone or hijack your SIM card, they can now acquire that verification code and utilize it to get access to the account they didn’t have before. As previously indicated, this has occurred in a real-life circumstance.

Strange Notifications

Have you been receiving authentication codes or links to help you reset your password? What about (alleged) alerts from your carrier or other services you use? They might require you to verify your identity, submit information for a free upgrade, or even give you a refund. These are common characteristics of SIM card hacking, and you must act promptly.

Weird Messages

Apparently, random text claiming to be from your cellular network provider requesting you to restart your phone is among the first indicators of SIM swapping. Often, this is a message sent by the intruder. Restarting the device allows them to steal your SIM card information when the phone is turned off.

Unrecognized Locations

If you use Google’s Find my Device for Android or Find My iPhone for iOS, it can be a valuable approach to monitor SIM difficulties. If your cellphone appears in a new location, your SIM card has been hijacked and used by a hacker. However, there is a chance that hackers will disable this feature.

How to Secure Yourself From SIM Swap?

The most straightforward answer is by staying alert. If you keep checking on your call logs, notifications, location, and signals, there is a chance that if you get sim swapped, you won’t face any grave consequences. As you were alert and you took immediate actions.

Another way to improve security is by subscribing to Efani. Efani provides guaranteed protection from SIM swap, eavesdropping, and location tracking. After getting SIM swapped four times, Efani’s owner, Haseeb Awan, decided to start a service to secure other victims of SIM Swap. Unlike any other mobile carrier, Efani ensures you are safe and your SMS and calls are not compromised. With Efani, you will never receive a spam call or message. Many high-profile individuals are already using the service and are content with it. You can, too, by switching to Efani today. Check their website for more information.