Why Don't US Carriers Encourage SIM PINs?
May 13, 2019, 3:06 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,746
Why Don't US Carriers Encourage SIM PINs?
A friend of mine recently misplaced his phone right before hopping on an international flight (wasn't sure if it was stolen or left at home, turned out to be home) - he didn't have time to deal with his (phone) carrier before flying. However, as he had a SIM PIN on his PIN at my suggestion, he wasn't worried about someone making calls with his SIM.
I really don't understand why the carriers don't push this - why everyone doesn't do it. Everyone locks down their smartphones with a password/fingerprint. But, if the phone is lost or stolen, the thief can remove the SIM card and make calls/impersonate the owner.
The only reason I think I know about this and lock my SIMs is I remember buying Dutch prepaid SIMs years ago that had the SIM PIN turned on by default.
I really don't understand why the carriers don't push this - why everyone doesn't do it. Everyone locks down their smartphones with a password/fingerprint. But, if the phone is lost or stolen, the thief can remove the SIM card and make calls/impersonate the owner.
The only reason I think I know about this and lock my SIMs is I remember buying Dutch prepaid SIMs years ago that had the SIM PIN turned on by default.
May 13, 2019, 8:39 am
#3
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SIM PINs are a holdover from the days when each call was billed per minute and someone using your SIM could land you with big charges. Nowadays just about everything is unlimited talk and text so the potential damage is limited. Plus most people don't often take their SIM from their phone so it's not very likely you'll lose your SIM but not your phone.
People SHOULD be locking their phone with a password but many people think it's too much of a hassle because they are silly. I was very surprised when I found that my company's IT group didn't enforce mandatory passwords when you add your work email to your phone (every other place I've worked has had this as a basic requirement).
People SHOULD be locking their phone with a password but many people think it's too much of a hassle because they are silly. I was very surprised when I found that my company's IT group didn't enforce mandatory passwords when you add your work email to your phone (every other place I've worked has had this as a basic requirement).
May 13, 2019, 9:19 am
#4
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I think there's a potential use for a SIM PIN in the identity theft arena.
While I use a strong password, if I lost my phone, someone could still read my texts, including texts of numbers used for two-step security. That always has me a little concerned.
I suppose a SIM PIN would only help alleviate that if I turned off these notifications and then the thief were to try to move my SIM to another phone. That's where a PIN would come in.
While I use a strong password, if I lost my phone, someone could still read my texts, including texts of numbers used for two-step security. That always has me a little concerned.
I suppose a SIM PIN would only help alleviate that if I turned off these notifications and then the thief were to try to move my SIM to another phone. That's where a PIN would come in.
May 13, 2019, 9:59 am
#5
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May 13, 2019, 11:48 am
#6
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Fine, but still: how often do you hear about thieves taking the SIM out of someone's phone to call internationally?
I used to have a SIM PIN but it's annoying because whenever the phone turns on it is nonfunctional until I remember to enter the PIN. I understand that that's the point; it just seems annoying to me.
I used to have a SIM PIN but it's annoying because whenever the phone turns on it is nonfunctional until I remember to enter the PIN. I understand that that's the point; it just seems annoying to me.
May 13, 2019, 12:31 pm
#7
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Fine, but still: how often do you hear about thieves taking the SIM out of someone's phone to call internationally?
I used to have a SIM PIN but it's annoying because whenever the phone turns on it is nonfunctional until I remember to enter the PIN. I understand that that's the point; it just seems annoying to me.
I used to have a SIM PIN but it's annoying because whenever the phone turns on it is nonfunctional until I remember to enter the PIN. I understand that that's the point; it just seems annoying to me.
May 13, 2019, 2:23 pm
#8
Join Date: Apr 2017
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My carrier offers unlimited calls and texts, as well as the ability to disable international service, disable calls to international numbers, and pause my service altogether. I can do all of this from any device with a web browser. A SIM-lock seems superfluous.
May 14, 2019, 1:30 am
#10
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Also, thieves don't actually need to steal your phone's SIM card to cause damage: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v...tagram-bitcoin. Not sure how a PIN would help with that.
May 14, 2019, 12:57 pm
#11
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 47
Also, thieves don't actually need to steal your phone's SIM card to cause damage: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v...tagram-bitcoin. Not sure how a PIN would help with that.
I was told once: “locks only keep honest people honest”
May 14, 2019, 1:51 pm
#12
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A SIM PIN won’t help with this - this is when someone manages to transfer someone’s phone number to a new SIM card. There are some things you can do at your account level with your phone provider to help mitigate this, but those have proven to not always be 100% efficient.
I was told once: “locks only keep honest people honest”
I was told once: “locks only keep honest people honest”
Unfortunately we also seem to be resistant to implementing measures to stop this form of fraud.
May 15, 2019, 4:01 pm
#14
Ambassador: Emirates Airlines
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Location: Manchester, UK
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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 £3.60 per minute!
May 16, 2019, 3:36 am
#15
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 47
Yep, in this instance 2-Factor Authentication can actually make your accounts less secure. What a world we live in these days.