How to Know If Your SIM Card Is Hacked and How It Gets Hacked

Your SIM card is your identity in the world of mobile communications. It’s what allows you to make calls, send texts and use data. It contains all your information, including phone numbers and other personal details.

So, if someone manages to hack into your SIM card, they can use that information for their own benefit.

In this article, we’ll look at how to know if your SIM card is hacked and how it happens.

How to Tell If Your SIM Card Was Hacked

There are some signs that can help you figure out if someone else is using your phone
number for their own benefit. Here’s how:

Unable to Send or Receive Any Calls or Texts
If you are unable to send or receive calls and texts from your phone at all, then it means
that your SIM card is deactivated, and the hacker may take over your SIM card. You can
check this by calling your service provider or checking your phone’s SIM status.

Request to Restart Your Phone
If you receive a text message on your phone asking you to restart it, do not comply. This is
one of the most common signs that your SIM card has been hacked, and hackers are trying
to get control over your SIM card. If you restart your phone, it will deactivate your SIM
card and activate the SIM card that the hacker holds.

Wrong Location
If you have a smartphone with a GPS system, you should be able to see its most recent
location by checking the “Find my device” feature on the smartphone. If your recent
phone’s location has been changed without your knowledge, this is one of the signs that
someone has hacked into your SIM card and gained access to it. Because SIM cards are
linked to the phone’s GPS system, any changes made to it will also change the location of
your device.

Can’t Access Accounts
If you try to log into any of your accounts and are locked out, it means someone has
hacked into your SIM card or phone and changed your password so that you can’t get into
your accounts. If it is a SIM card hack, then any authentication message sent to your SIM
card will not be received by you. And hackers use it to gain access to your account.

Suspicious Account Activity
If you notice any unusual activity on your SIM bills, such as a subscription that you don’t
recognise or an unknown charge for phone calls and text messages you didn’t make, this
could be an indication of a SIM card hack.

SMS warning port number

How Your SIM Card Can Be Hacked

Here are some of the most common ways that hackers can get into your SIM card:

1. SIM Swapping
The most common way to hack a SIM card is through what’s known as “SIM swapping.”
This is when someone takes over your phone number by convincing your mobile provider to
issue them new SIM cards for the same account. This can be done over the phone or through social media, where attackers may pose as you using social engineering strategies and claim they’ve lost their SIM card. Once they have a new one in hand, they can use it to access your online accounts and steal any data stored on them.

2. SIM Cloning
Another way your SIM card can be hacked is through “SIM cloning.” This is when someone
copies your SIM card and duplicates it to create a clone. They then use this fake copy or
“clone” to access your accounts and steal any information stored on them. This is a
common tactic used by hackers to gain access to your information. They will either
physically steal your phone, or they could simply use social engineering tactics to convince
you that they’re an employee of your service provider and ask for the sim card so that
they can “check something on it.”

3. Simjacker
The simjacker is a security vulnerability that affects many mobile phone users. It is an
attack based on the exploitation of the SIM toolkit standard, which is used by several
mobile phone manufacturers. The simjacker attack allows hackers to use text messages to
infect a victim’s phone with a spyware-like code. Hackers then use this technique to spy
on the user’s activities, such as keystrokes, passwords, or even making calls.

simjacker sim card stolen

What to Do If Your SIM Card Was Hacked

If you have been the victim of a SIM card hack, you will need to take immediate action.
The first thing that you should do is to contact your mobile service provider and tell them
about the situation. They will then be able to help you with the necessary steps that you
need to take in order to get your SIM back up and running.

The second thing that you should do is to contact the local authorities if needed. This will
ensure that your identity remains protected and there are no further problems for you or
your family members as a result of this incident.

The third thing that you should do is to change all of your passwords, including those for
online accounts such as banking websites, social media accounts, and so on.

Finally, contact your bank or credit card company; your bank or credit card company
might be able to help you recover any stolen funds that may be on the card or in your
account.

References

• https://www.upguard.com/blog/can-sim-cards-get-hacked
• https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ways-sim-card-hacked/
• https://mobilityarena.com/sim-card-can-be-hacked/

Written by The Original PC Doctor on 6/11/2022.