Summary: Criminals are targeting T-Mobile and Verizon employees with text messages offering cash in exchange for performing SIM swaps, a type of attack where the fraudster reroutes the victim’s service to a device they control. This surge in SIM swap attacks has led to new regulations to protect consumers.
Threat Actor: Unknown | N/A
Victim: T-Mobile and Verizon employees | N/A
Key Point:
- Criminals are texting T-Mobile and Verizon employees, offering them cash to perform SIM swaps.
- The messages claim to have obtained the contact information from an employee directory.
- T-Mobile is investigating the messages and states that they did not suffer a breach.
- Verizon employees have also reported receiving similar texts.
- SIM swap attacks can lead to unauthorized access, identity theft, and financial losses.
- In 2023, the FBI received over 1,000 SIM-swapping complaints with adjusted losses of nearly $49 million.
- The FCC has implemented new rules to protect consumers from SIM-swapping attacks.
Criminals are now texting T-Mobile and Verizon employees on their personal and work phones, trying to tempt them with cash to perform SIM swaps.
The targeted employees have shared screenshots of messages offering $300 to those willing to aid the senders in their criminal endeavors.
According to many reports, this is part of a campaign targeted at current and former mobile carrier workers who could have access to the systems required to perform a SIM swap.
“Myself and a group of former employees all got the same message, all from different numbers and with different verbiage,” one of the targeted people said.
The attackers’ messages claim the source of the contact information is an employee directory, as first spotted by The Mobile Report.
“I got your number from the T-Mo employee directory. I’m looking to pay someone up to $300 per sim swap done, if you’re interested, reply and we can talk,” the criminals say in the messages.
Other texts seen by BleepingComputer request employees contact the threat actor on Telegram if they are interested in the offer.
While it was initially believed that these texts were only targeting T-Mobile employees, Verizon employees also stated that were receiving variations of the same text.
T-Mobile told BleepingComputer that they are investigating the text messages but stressed they did not suffer another breach.
”We did not have a systems breach. We continue to investigate these messages that are being sent to solicit illegal activity. We understand other wireless providers have reported similar messages,” T-Mobile told BleepingComputer.
A Verizon spokesperson was not immediately available for comment when BleepingComputer reached out earlier today.
SIM swap surge leads to new rules
In SIM swap attacks, criminals trick a victim’s wireless carrier into rerouting their service to a device controlled by the fraudster.
Successful attacks can lead to unauthorized access to personal accounts and sensitive information, identity theft, financial losses, and significant emotional distress for the victims.
In February 2022, the FBI warned that criminals were increasing SIM swap attacks to steal millions by hijacking victims’ phone numbers.
The law enforcement agency also revealed in its annual Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) report that Americans filed 1,075 SIM-swapping complaints in 2023, with adjusted losses of $48,798,103.
Last year, the FBI also received 2,026 complaints about SIM-swapping attacks linked to losses of $72,652,571. In contrast, only 320 complaints reporting SIM swapping incidents with losses of roughly $12 million were filed between January 2018 and December 2020.
In November, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) revealed new rules to shield Americans from SIM-swapping attacks in response to this surging wave of consumer complaints.
Under the new regulations, carriers must implement secure authentication procedures before transferring customers’ phone numbers to different devices or providers. They must also warn them whenever a SIM change or port-out request occurs on their accounts.
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