The number of reported SIM-swap fraud incidents in South Africa has doubled in the past year, according to cybersecurity experts from Kaspersky.<\/p>\n
SIM-swap fraud happens when someone convinces your mobile operator to switch your phone number over to a SIM card that a criminal possesses. In some cases, there are carrier\u2019s employees working together with criminals.<\/p>\n
By diverting your incoming SMS messages, scammers can easily complete the text-based two-factor authentication checks that protect your most sensitive accounts in financial services, social networks, webmail services and instant messengers.<\/p>\n
“Despite financial inclusion services prospering, the flip side to this is that it opens up a world of opportunities to cybercriminals and fraudsters who are using the convenience a mobile phone offers to exploit and poke holes in a two-factor authentication process,” said Fabio Assolini, senior security researcher of Kaspersky Lab.<\/p>\n
“Frauds using SIM swap are becoming common in Africa and Middle East, affecting countries like South Africa, Turkey and UAE.<\/p>\n
“Countries like Mozambique have experienced this firsthand. The implemented solution, by banks and mobile operators in Mozambique, as a result, is something I believe we must learn from and encourage other regions to investigate and apply, among other aspects, to mobile payment methods of the future \u2013 as a way to ensure that mobile phones do not become an enemy in our pockets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Assolini said that the total money lost in the attacks varies by country and there are extreme cases, such as one in the United Arab Emirates, where one victim lost $1 million (R14,45 million), while in South Africa one victim reported losing $20,000 (R289,000).<\/p>\n
\u201cOn average fraudsters can steal $2,500 to $3,000 (R36,000 – R43,000) per victim, while the cost to perform the SIM swap starts with $10 to $40 (R144 – R580),\u201d said Assolini.<\/p>\n