The FBI is warning about a massive increase in so-called “SIM-swap” attacks, where criminals find ways to divert victims’ phone numbers onto a SIM card under their control.
Last year, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) got more than 1,600 complaints of SIM-swapping, a more than 15 times increase over previous years, according to a recent FBI public service announcement. The scams caused more than $68m in losses to victims in 2021.
