Why Don't US Carriers Encourage SIM PINs?
May 16, 2019, 7:34 am
#16
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: ORD
Posts: 14,231
That's exactly the scam. Phones are being stolen just for the SIM. The unlocked SIM is used on another phone to call a premium rate number that has been set up by the perpetrators.
The victim is more worried about the phone, so doesn't initially cancel the SIM, and then receives a huge bill at the end of the month.
Premium rate numbers in the UK cost up to Ł3.60 per minute!
The victim is more worried about the phone, so doesn't initially cancel the SIM, and then receives a huge bill at the end of the month.
Premium rate numbers in the UK cost up to Ł3.60 per minute!
Proper, cryptographic 2 factor auth makes your account more secure. SMS texting a login code to your phone is only as secure as the underlying phone infrastructure, which as we've seen, is not very secure. Contrast with USB authorization tokens or even code generator apps on a (properly secured) smartphone.
May 16, 2019, 8:27 am
#17
Ambassador: Emirates Airlines
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 18,605
https://paypercall.com/go.html
$50 per call...
Set it up, steal a few SIMs and make the calls. Obviously the scammers will be a bit subtle.
Anyway, I only heard about this a couple of years ago in a technical publication, but I've locked my SIM since. The actual phone is just a bonus for the scammers.
May 16, 2019, 9:26 am
#18
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: CPT,AMS
Posts: 4,412
That's exactly the scam. Phones are being stolen just for the SIM. The unlocked SIM is used on another phone to call a premium rate number that has been set up by the perpetrators.
The victim is more worried about the phone, so doesn't initially cancel the SIM, and then receives a huge bill at the end of the month.
Premium rate numbers in the UK cost up to Ł3.60 per minute!
The victim is more worried about the phone, so doesn't initially cancel the SIM, and then receives a huge bill at the end of the month.
Premium rate numbers in the UK cost up to Ł3.60 per minute!
May 16, 2019, 9:30 am
#19
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 47
This still seems like a holdover from another era to me. Perhaps it's more of a concern in Europe/Asia?
Proper, cryptographic 2 factor auth makes your account more secure. SMS texting a login code to your phone is only as secure as the underlying phone infrastructure, which as we've seen, is not very secure. Contrast with USB authorization tokens or even code generator apps on a (properly secured) smartphone.
Proper, cryptographic 2 factor auth makes your account more secure. SMS texting a login code to your phone is only as secure as the underlying phone infrastructure, which as we've seen, is not very secure. Contrast with USB authorization tokens or even code generator apps on a (properly secured) smartphone.
May 17, 2019, 4:51 am
#21
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: DEL
Posts: 1,057
Many US mobile providers also block international calls by default, so a SIM stolen from a random American is essentially useless for making charges to its owner's phone bill.
In Europe where premium-rate calls and particularly SMS are alive and well, the SIM PIN makes way more sense. I spent €30 on premium SMS the other day--daily transit tickets for four people, and because of the way prepaid reloads and bonus data work here in Belgium, it's easy to end up with €100+ in credit that can be used (by me or a thief) to pay for transit, parking, etc. and potentially to buy things in the Google Play store.
Last edited by der_saeufer; May 17, 2019 at 5:09 am
