How does the program work?
Scammers can gain access to the mobile number of any Russian without trying to steal the smartphone itself. It is enough to make a reissue of the SIM card and get a copy, Vladimir Ulyanov, head of the analytical center of the security company Zecurion, told socialbites.ca.
According to him, there are two main options for implementing this plan.
“The first is to mislead the employee of a communication hall with fake, but reasonable documents, and it is absolutely original, not a copy. Secondly, through an accomplice who was aware of the deception in the communication hall and accepted completely low-quality documents, for example, a power of attorney allegedly issued. ”
Ivan Samoylenko, managing partner of B&C Agency, told socialbites.ca that if criminals want to steal a specific person’s number, they can apply for a fake passport.
“The scammer will come into the living room and introduce himself under your name, saying that the phone is lost and he does not want to change the number. The employee will offer to draw up a document with a request for duplication of the SIM card, after which the scammer will receive the number he needs, ”the employee said.
The database will contain the full name, serial and number without the photo, and in a fake passport everything will match except the photo. There will be one person who will come to the communication hall.
Samoylenko stated that simultaneously with the number, authorization codes of mobile banking, postal and social media accounts were made available to the criminal.
Group-IB, an information security company, told socialbites.ca recently that scammers deliberately chose a future victim.
“This is why information about personal data is so in demand – it’s “draining” from telecom operators and banks, the company said.
How to detect a hack
According to Zecurion’s Vladimir Ulyanov, the loss of signal and the inability to restore it by turning airplane mode on or off or restarting the smartphone is a clear sign that the SIM card has been hacked.
“There will be no weak signal or lack of reception in certain parts of the location due to poor coverage. Cellular communication completely stops working – neither calls, nor SMS messages, nor the Internet is possible, ”said the author.
The expert explained that when the victim’s SIM card was re-issued, it became inoperable. Ulyanov noted that only contacts with phone numbers stored in memory will remain and are marked as invalid for the telecom operator.
Ivan Samoilenko of B&C Agency added that you can also find out that a copy was taken by criminals through a telecom operator. Before the specialist disconnects the SIM card, an SMS message about such an action comes to the victim’s phone number.
What can a scammer do
Ulyanov stated that the scammer will receive all SMS messages to this number.
“With the help of this SIM card, you can do everything: register for new services and recover the password for social networks and services that the victim used before,” said the expert.
According to him, in social networks, a phone number is enough to block access. But Ulyanov is sure that the seizure of the number itself is not the most critical thing for the victim.
“It is more dangerous if the SIM card opens access to the victim’s email,” he explained.
Even more accounts are tied to email, and using two-factor authentication means an attacker may not be able to get hold of both the email and the mobile number.
“However, under these conditions an attacker can gain access to the email box. As a result, the criminal will be able to bypass any two-factor authentication and access the victim’s profile on any service.”
How to prevent scammers from accessing all social networks and services
Vladimir Ulyanov, first of all, it is worth contacting a mobile operator to block a new SIM card reissued with the victim’s number.
“This will prevent attackers from committing further criminal acts,” said the Zecurion expert.
The next steps are to contact law enforcement and the banks where the accounts and cards are located.
According to Ulyanov, recently there has been a nuance between customers in communication with credit institutions – everyone has become accustomed to the fact that you can contact the bank through a mobile application, but this will not always work with a seized SIM card.
“There is a chance that the app will work on the victim’s smartphone even when the SIM card is disabled. In this case, it is worth checking whether the money has been debited from the accounts. If suspicious transactions are noticed, we immediately contact the bank and block the accounts,” he said.
When contacting the operator, it is worth finding out who, when and on what grounds Ivan Samoylenko removed the second SIM card. According to him, this information will be helpful when contacting law enforcement with a description of the crime.
Ulyanov advised the Russians not to neglect to visit a bank branch. Going to the branch is an inconvenient route for regular transactions, but with such a high hacking threat, it’s extremely important and reliable, he explained.
Ulyanov warned that after solving problems with the telecom operator and banks, it is necessary to check all other accounts.
“There will be a lot of trouble – now the password needs to be changed for all accounts in social networks and online services. We review all our profiles and accounts. Even if this or that account does not yet arouse suspicion, you should still change the combination. In such cases, it makes sense to take action,” he said.
How to avoid such a hack
Ivan Samoylenko of B&C Agency added that there is an option to rule out this smartphone hacking scenario.
“You can put a formal ban on card recovery by proxy – that way you’ll be sure that no one scanning your documents will come to the operator’s office and hand you a SIM card,” he said.
Group-IB experts stated that all the danger of hacking comes from the employees of telecom operators.
“We believe it would be appropriate to add more control and bureaucracy to the SIM card reissue process, as the procedure is far from ordinary. Conditionally: limiting the number of offices where it is possible to do this,” he said.
The information security company strongly recommended that the Russians contact the telecom operators and change the agreement so that the SIM card can be reissued only in person and only in a certain office.
“In this case, even if an attacker scans a passport and issues a false power of attorney, they cannot reissue the SIM card and use it to access mobile banking,” said Group-IB.
Vladimir Ulyanov noted that now many banks in Russia impose an additional restriction when changing the SIM card: during the day the bank does not use the number to confirm the transaction. “This is a quality security measure – it reduces comfort but increases security,” he explained.
Group-IB confirmed that this measure is increasingly being implemented in Russia. “In the last two years, more and more banks have come to agreements with mobile operators to exchange data against fraud. However, this rule does not apply to everyone yet.
Source: Gazeta
