This allows the fraudster to intercept one-time passwords sent via text or telephone calls to the victim's number and thus subvert two-factor authentication methods relying on them.
A number of high-profile hacks have occurred utilizing SIM swapping, including some on the social media sites Instagram and Twitter.
[13][14] In May 2020, a lawsuit was filed against an 18 year old Irvington High School senior in Irvington, New York, Ellis Pinsky, who was accused with 20 co-conspirators of swindling digital currency investor Michael Terpin – the founder and chief executive officer of Transform Group – of $23.8 million in 2018, when the accused was 15 years old, through the use of data stolen from smartphones by SIM swaps.
[15][16][needs update] In early 2022, the US FBI reported a sharp increase in money losses to consumers in 2021, and continuing into 2022, from this type of fraud.
The common pattern includes victims facing abrupt disruptions in their mobile services, coupled with a notification suggesting a change.