SIM swaps have become so common that Snopes, the leading website for fact checkers, now has an article demystifying lies being spread about them on social media. The fake news story reviewed by Snopes claims that SIM swappers can take control of your account by simply calling you and persuading you to press a number on the dial.
How it works
1 A new fraud called SIM SWAP has started. Your phone network will momentarily go blind / zero (No Signal / Zero Bars) and after a while a call will come through.
2 The Person on the other side will tell you that he is calling from (your cell phone company) depending on your network and that there is a problem in your mobile network.
3 He will instruct you to Please press 1 on your phone to get the network back.
*Please at this stage don’t Press anything, Just cut the call.
Obviously this is nonsense. So why would somebody spread a story like this on social media and via email? There is no motive except their desperate craving for attention. However, they are also drawing attention to the issue of SIM swaps, and hopefully some recipients will respond by checking the facts and reacting promptly if their account really is taken over.
You can read the Snopes article here.
