California man says he lost $38,000 — money meant for his mom — to a SIM swap scam. Here's how you can protect yourself
Justin Chan of Carlsbad, California, says a hacker drained $38,000 from his bank account after his phone number was compromised in a SIM swapping scam — and he’s not sure he’ll get the money back.
“This could happen to anybody,” he told ABC 10 News in a story broadcast Nov. 25.
One night in September, Chan says he started receiving odd notifications on his phone and realized it was no longer connected to his cellular network. There were no bars and he was unable to send or receive calls. He now believes he was a victim of SIM swapping, a scam in which criminals take over your phone number.
Access to his cell service wasn’t the only thing Chan says he lost. A letter shared with ABC 10 News shows three wire transfers totaling $38,000 from a Bank of America account.
“I’ve never wired money out of Bank of America,” he said. “It’s just been money that’s been sitting there waiting for my mom to use as rent, as funds, as food, as utility payments.”
The bank initially denied his fraud claim, Chan says, and he’s worried he may never be able to recover the funds.
What is a SIM swap attack?
A SIM swap is a type of fraud where scammers trick a mobile carrier into transferring a victim’s phone number to a device they control. This can be done by calling the company and impersonating the victim, which Chan claims happened to him.
“I told them that, ‘This is not me. Why did you switch the phone line over?’ And they basically said, ‘We have verification.’ And I asked them, ‘What kind of verification did you have?’ And they said, ‘We had the last four digits of your credit card.’ And I thought, ‘That was not me, and why would you do that?’” Chan said.
Once fraudsters gain control of a person’s phone number, they can intercept calls and texts, including two-factor authentication codes, which can give them access to a victim’s financial accounts. This scam often coincides with gathering a victim’s personal details, which are used to help gain access to accounts.
Another letter shared with ABC 10 News indicates Bank of America denied Chan a refund after its investigation found at least one of the transactions in question was confirmed via text message.
“That was just as bad as the criminal taking the money from me initially,” he said.
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After contacting the bank, ABC 10 News reports Chan’s case has been re-opened, however, it’s unclear if he will recover the money.
“Bank of America prioritizes client protection, and we reimburse our customers for fraud losses resulting from verified, unauthorized transactions,” a spokesperson told the broadcaster.
A spokesperson for Chan’s phone service company, Xfinity Mobile, also told ABC 10 News it’s working to help address the issue for him.
How to protect yourself
Over 1,000 victims lost more than $48 million to SIM swap crimes in 2023, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
The reason SIM swapping is so alarming is it doesn’t require the victim themselves to fall for the scam. Fraudsters can gather information that is available online, such as a person’s name, address and age, to bypass potential password protection security questions. However, there are steps you can take to protect yourself.
“You want to make sure that you’re keeping unique passwords. That’s very important,” NerdWallet personal finance expert Melissa Lambarena told ABC 10 News. “You can also contact your phone carrier and ask about setting up a PIN. So, whenever there is a change to your account, this PIN will be required.”
Where possible, use an authentication app, such as Google Authenticator, rather than text messaging to generate codes when setting up two-factor authentication. Even if fraudsters get access to your phone’s texts, they may not be able to access your authentication app, which can keep your financial accounts secure. It also pays to be cautious about what information you share online, especially on social media sites.
Monitoring your accounts and reporting any suspicious activity quickly may also be helpful.
If you’ve been the victim of a similar crime, you can report it to the FBI’s Internet Crimes Complaints Center at IC3.gov.
