Loading…
10
Switched from SMS codes to an authenticator app after a guy in Dallas cloned my number
I used to think text message codes were good enough for my bank and email, until a guy at a coffee shop in Dallas showed me how easy it is to port a number to a new SIM. Someone tried it on me 4 months ago and got my carrier to move my line for about 20 minutes before I called and shut it down. Now I use a free authenticator app that spits out a new 6 digit code every 30 seconds, and none of my logins touch my phone number at all. Has anyone else made this switch, and did you bother turning off text codes everywhere or just on the accounts that matter most?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
fiona_sullivan2927d ago
Twenty minutes is honestly a lifetime in SIM swap world, that guy could have drained everything and been halfway to Oklahoma by then. The part that gets me is how calm these folks are about it, just sitting in a coffee shop showing strangers how to steal your whole life. I turned off text codes on everything, not just the important stuff, because you never know which dumb account is the weak link that lets someone reset the rest. Banks and email first obviously, but also the random shopping sites and that one food delivery app I use twice a year. It takes a while to go through them all but it beats finding out the hard way. My carrier also let me add a PIN on the account so nobody can port anything without it, worth asking about if you have not already.
8